You Should Be Writing
by TheFifthSister
Summary: A collection of unrelated one shots centred around Caskett. Often written to clear writer's block or refocus during album writing.
1. About Time

**About Time.  
** **Post 5x05.**

It had been a few days since the ordeal with Tyson. He hadn't slept well the last few days, she could see the effect it was having on him. Captain Gates had ordered her to take a couple of days off and by extension that meant Castle too and she'd spent all of those days with him, reassuring him that they were alright. That he had nothing to prove. That his mind was getting the better of him. That they were going to be alright. Together. They were together and that meant so much to her. They'd stuck close to home, to Martha and Alexis.

They closed their first case back pretty quickly and he seemed to perk up as the case peaked his interest. That was until the word paperwork was uttered. But he'd elected to sit with her, play on his phone, then leave her side just yet.

"Yo, you two up for a drink?" Espo called as he grabbed his coat.  
Ryan joined him and the stopped at Beckett's desk. "You know, seeing as you two are…" he lowered his voice, checking who was in earshot. "You know. We need to celebrate. Old Haunt? I'm friends with the owner." He joked.

Beckett laughed. "Sure, sounds good. Castle?"  
She noticed the spark in his eyes rekindle. "First rounds on me," he announced. "After all, I do owe you guys a drink for… last week"  
"We'll see you there. Text Lanie cause she'll give us all hell if we leave her out," Espo bumped his fist and made his exit, Ryan on his heels.  
"You okay?" Beckett asked. "You've been theorising a lot less on this case."  
"Just tired. The… dreamt again last night. Nice to be back in this place," Castle looked around. "Nice to not be on the wrong side of this desk… that suspect board."  
Her heart ached for him. She knew he'd been weary of how everyone would look at him when he walked through the door again. But once LT had high fived him on the way through the door, Espo and Ryan had immediately filled them in on their case and he'd dived in.

"You may not be a cop Castle but you're one of us," Beckett assured him. "Now, let's go have a drink with our friends."

Beckett grabbed her cell, keys and slipped her jacket on, the last of the paperwork done for the day.  
He followed her to the lift and waited for the doors to open. She leaned close, so his ears would be the only ones to catch her words. "I'm sleeping with the owner so I may be able to get us a drink or two."

Castle laughed. She didn't think she'd ever get enough of that sound.

Espo and Ryan had claimed their usual booth at the back by the time they'd gotten there, Lanie sitting across from them. Beckett slid in next to her, grabbing a chair for Castle to sit at the end. He'd gone to the bar to say hi to the staff and grab their usual orders. The joking and teasing started almost immediately and the both felt a lot freer now that they weren't lying to their friends.

"About time, you two," Lanie said as she raised her glass. Ryan and Espo clinked with her and Beckett rolled her eyes, shooting Castle a look. He was smiling. The first true, beautiful, carefree smile he'd given since Tyson.

"About time," he conceded and clinked with his friends.

They chatted and laughed and Castle rose to get another round, this time joined by the boys. "What can I get you ladies?" he offered.  
"Same again," Lanie asked. Beckett nodded her agreement.

"You look happy girl," Lanie offered. "A lot happier than when I saw you last week that's for sure. I'm glad you two figured it out cause I'd given you all my good advice."  
"Good advice?" Beckett laughed. "Lanie, you kept telling me to tell him at the worst possible times."  
Lanie rolled. "Well, would you have preferred me telling you to 'use what God gave you'? Cause honestly Kate, you were gonna leave me with no other choice if you didn't do something."

"My brain and my wit?" Beckett asked, sipping the from her drink and feigning an ignorant look for her friend.  
"Girl, that's a weird name for your boobs. I hope writer boy comes up with something better."  
Beckett laughed, shooting her friend a glare at the same time. Castle was returning with their drinks. He looked like his usual self. Happy with a hint of childish glee about him. She felt a little giddy.  
"Yep, happy looks good on you Kate." Lanie whispered as she watched the smile the two exchanged across the room.


	2. Speechless

**Speechless.  
** **Season 2.**

She regretted. The instant she'd done it she thought she'd made a mistake but now she knew she regretted it. And of course he was playing the innocent act. He was trying to annoy her. Why was he always trying to annoy her?

"Castle, stop stealing gummy bears from my drawer. And stop trying act like you're being subtle about it. I can see you reaching in there," Beckett all but growled at him. Castle tried to feign innocence but it only served to fuel the flame of annoyance in her. He actually had the audacity to look like he'd been sitting there minding his own business whilst she dealt with paperwork. She reached down, intending to move the bag to a drawer on her other side when his hand reached in and grabbed a handful. He looked her dead in the eye, shoving the whole handful in his mouth, just to get a rise out of her.

"Castle, you need to grow up," she complained, slamming the drawer. He tried to defend himself. But he couldn't say anything around the candy in his mouth. She grabbed her coffee mug, deciding to get a coffee and get away from this manchild for a second before she gave in to the urge to shoot. He smirked, as she walked and then suddenly turned and pointed at him. "You owe me another bag." And with that she walked into the break room.

He laughed. He hadn't intended to play with her but she was such an easy target sometimes and he just wanted her to loosen up a little. They hadn't had a case come up today but the day was still early. He looked around, seeing Ryan working at his desk and decided to keep him company, not wanting to push his luck too far with Beckett. He'd definitely replace the candy. He'd noticed she was fond of M&Ms too. Maybe he'd pick up lunch for them all too. But for now he concentrated on chewing and retreating to safety.


	3. Grass

**Grass.  
Post series.**

There was just something about sitting in the grass. She'd never really given it all that much thought in the past. When they'd walk through the park, they always ended up at their swings or they'd find a bench to sit together, his arm draped across her shoulders as she'd curl into his side. But this? This was perfect. The grass below her, tickling the skin of her legs not covered by the three-quarter length jeans she wore. The sun warmed her face below her sunglasses as she watched her husband and daughter crawl across the ground, hunting bugs and God knows what else their imaginations had conjured up. The sound of their daughters laughter filled her heart, the way she watched her Dad eagerly as he made up a story just for her, the way she got to her legs and led him by the hand to something that had captured her attention. And before she had a chance to work out what it was that had enthralled her little girl, the two year old was running at her while her husband looked on with amusement.

"Momma, 'ook!"

Kate managed to catch Lily she ran into her mother, falling backwards with her into the grass. Lily giggled as she lay on top her mother, lifting her hand to show her the flower she clutched in her tiny hand.

"Did you and Daddy find a flower?"

"For you Momma," Lily patted placed it on her mother's chest as she rolled off. Kate didn't let her go far, pulling her daughter against her side and cuddled.

Castle laid next to them, pointing up at the sky as he laid his head next to his wife's. "That cloud kind of looks like a turtle. Look Lily."

Kate looked, along with her daughter. "It's more of a bear, babe."

Kate twirled the flower in between her fingers, pondering shapes in the sky with her husband as their daughter lay cuddled between them.

Yes, there was just something about sitting in the grass.

* * *

 _Leave me prompts here, on Twitter ( thefifthsister) or on Tumblr (thefifthsister)_

 _ **I'm writing a Castle inspired album called "Always".  
**_ _ **Have a listen to the first singles at /AllTheSongs and /UntilTomorrowVid**_


	4. Grin

**Grin.  
** **Post 7x06.**

The smell of coffee reached her, stirring parts of her brain that told her she needed to get up. Parts that she was trying to ignore. She was content and warm in bed, despite the fact that her husband was missing from it. Wow, that would take some getting used to. Husband. It was a great feeling.

They'd stayed in the Hamptons after the ceremony, their family giving them some time alone, so she knew her husband was responsible for the heavenly smell. She stretched, her body still pleasantly tingling from the night (and early hours of the morning) before checking the time on her phone hoping they still had a while before they had to head back to the city. She ignored the message notifications, the real world could wait until they left their little getaway but she noticed one message was from Castle. Confused, considering he should still be in the house. His smiling face greeted her. His grin reached his ears, eyes shining with joy that she'd missed seeing in his brilliant blue eyes lately. He looked at peace, nothing but happiness written across his ruggedly handsome features. She read the caption underneath. That feeling when you wake up and Kate Beckett is your wife.

She smirked. That sweet, goofy man of hers. He always made her feel special and once again she marvelled at how lucky she was. Before she had a chance to reply she heard his footsteps approaching. He strolled into their room, wearing nothing but the grin, a cup of coffee in each hand. He stopped at the foot of the bed, each of them appreciating the view before them. Oh yes, once those coffees were out of his hands she'd definitely cause a few other looks to cross that face. Maybe take a few photos of her own too.

* * *

 _Leave me prompts here, on Twitter ( thefifthsister) or on Tumblr (thefifthsister)_

 _ **I'm writing a Castle inspired album called "Always".  
**_ _ **Have a listen to the first singles at /AllTheSongs and /UntilTomorrowVid**_


	5. Nicknames

**Nicknames.  
Post series.**

It hadn't occurred to her before. Her whole life she'd been Alexis. It was the name bestowed on her. No one had ever called her any different. Sure, she was 'pumpkin' to her Dad. 'Kiddo' to Gram. And not to mention that awkward phase where she'd been 'bud' to Kate, although she did have to admit she love how hard Kate had tried with that. But she'd always been Alexis.

She thought it was perfect that the only real nickname she'd had was bestowed to her by one of the most precious people in her life.

From the moment Lily had called her 'Lexie' she knew her baby sister had her wrapped around her little finger. She would always be there to do whatever she could. She'd be her best friend, her confidant, her partner in crime, she'd be her backup and gang up on Mom and Dad. Their bond was like nothing she experienced.

So, Lexie she'd be for Lily from now on.

* * *

 _Leave me prompts here, on Twitter ( thefifthsister) or on Tumblr (thefifthsister)_

 _ **I'm writing a Castle inspired album called "Always".  
**_ _ **Have a listen to the first singles at bit . ly /AllTheSongs and bit . ly /UntilTomorrowVid**_


	6. Blocks

**Blocks.  
** **Post series.**

He wants to write. The words are there but just beyond his recognition. His fingers itch to fly across his keyboard, lost in his own imagination. But he feels weighed down, like a fog swirls behind his eyes. It's hitting him harder that it usually would. The sense of abandonment. That his brain, his mind won't cooperate with him. He longs for the release, the distraction. The fear, the pain, they temper his passion and he just wants to find a way back through to that flow of prose that is still there inside. Just out of reach. Behind a wall. Glass bricks, frosted. He could see the thoughts behind it. But he couldn't break through. Ironic, after all these years he'd spent knocking down his wife's walls that he'd feel one of his own. He'd been blocked before, granted for reasons that were less life-threatening and he was still in recovery. Blocks had passed before. This would too. He just wished it was sooner rather than later. He heard her in the kitchen. Stirring her morning coffee. She slowly made her way into his office and he rose to meet her, relieve her of the cups in her hands. She was pushing herself and he could see the toll. She dropped to the sofa, her tablet in reach and he slowly lowered next to her, handing her coffee.  
"It'll come babe," She simply said.

His muse. Yes, he knew the words would come back to him. They both just needed some time.

* * *

 _Leave me prompts here, on Twitter ( thefifthsister) or on Tumblr (thefifthsister)_

 _ **I'm writing a Castle inspired album called "Always".  
**_ _ **Have a listen to the first singles at /AllTheSongs and /UntilTomorrowVid**_


	7. Teamwork

**Teamwork.**

They had a system. A team cohesion that flowed from years of working together.. Hand gestures, facial cues, each of them an integral part in how the team worked. They knew they could count on each other to have each others backs. They knew how the others thought. They knew each others strengths and how to work them to the teams advantage. There were days when they could preempt what the others thought, the conclusions they might reach over a piece of evidence, how they'd handle a suspect.

It was for this very reason that Beckett, Esposito and Castle shared a look; a wordless thought. This was about to be a very awkward conversation. So they were gonna leave it for Ryan to deal with.


	8. Meeting Nikki

**Meeting Nikki.  
Set during Beckett's suspension.**

She'd been to the loft a number of times over the years. Poker games with the boys and Martha. Breakfast and dinners with his family. They'd wholed up in his office on a few occasions, breaking down case details after they were meant to be off the job.  
She'd thought it was magical the first time she'd entered it, nothing like the bachelor pad she imagined she'd step into when she lifted her hand to knock the first time she'd been to his place. But over the years she knew it to be a warm, loving family home filled with the quirky, larger than life, kind hearted people she was thrilled she got the chance to be around. It wasn't quite her home but the more time she spent here, the more she could see it becoming just that. Honestly, where Castle was would be home for her from here on out. One and done.

This time, as she wandered the loft, free to take her time actually enjoy and study his quirky decour, the hints of his history, of Alexis' upbringing. The joy and laughter that come before. Cradling a cup of coffee in her hands, wearing one of Castle's t-shirts and a pair of his socks to keep her warm, she worked her way through his living room, around the bookcases and into his office where she could hear him typing. Her fingers ran along the shelves, a revenant touch against the collection of his own works. That had made her roll her eyes the first time she'd spotted them, vanity had been her first though but with all the signed copies she'd seen him offer people over the years, she knows now they're a sign of his generosity, as well as his personal triumphs.

They'd explored a lot over the past few days, mostly each other, but truly being free to look around his home, those places deemed private or intimate before for both of them, she relished the chance to see sides of her partner, her new boyfriend, that she had not seen before.

She watched him work for a minute, his gaze locked on the computer screen, lost inside the world he was creating in his head. She loved getting to know this side of him too. She'd awoken this morning with his arms around her, she should have known he was a snuggler, especially the few rounds they'd been through the night before. She'd curled into him further and he'd awkwardly expressed his need to write, the guilt evident across his face as he promised to spend the rest of the day with her once he'd gotten a chapter or two out of the way. She'd encouraged him to write while she made breakfast and had a shower.

She knew he was a great writer. Had known it before they even met. But he'd spent so many years procrastinating at her desk, it was kind of nice to have their roles reversed. For her to be the one on the other side of the desk, watching, observing, taking it all in. She leant against the bookcase, content to watch while she finished her coffee; nothing more pressing than having a chance to be with him, to be 'them' before she was back at work and trying to figure that whole thing out could definitely wait a few more days.

She takes a sip when it catches her eyes. It's definitely out of place amongst his framed book covers, the family photos and the knick-knacks that make up his story. She'd pictured a lot of things making their way into this adorable man-child's home but the Barbie doll that lay, cast aside atop the bureau behind him, struck her as odd.

Castle's gaze lifted from the screen, as if he was searching the room for the next word. She saw the moment his eyes landed on her, watching him and the smile that spread across his face and lit his eyes warmed her heart.

"Not in the way, am I?" Kate asked.  
"Never in the way. I'm just… it's a nice distraction."  
Kate dipped her head, smiling into her coffee mug. She moved into the office and dropped into one of the armchairs, pulling her feet up beneath her and continued to watch him, occasionally taking the time to look at the photos behind him, the artwork, trying to determine the origin of each while she left him to work. He continued typing for a little longer, occasionally peeking over his laptop at her. He reached a stopping point as she was finishing her cup, saved with a flourish of his hands and then closed his laptop, leaning back in his chair and smiled as he watched her.

"Nikki and Rook save another day?" she teased.

"Well, I don't like to brag…" He smirked.  
"Yes, you do," she rolled her eyes. Kate rose from the sofa, drawn to him. Sitting in his lap, the doll caught her eye again. She wrapped one arm around his neck and reached over to grab the doll with her free hand. "Can I ask you about this? Because it doesn't really go with every else in this room. Was this Alexis' when she was kid?"

Castle rubbed the back of his head and huffed out a sigh. He'd forgotten that was still out.  
"That's Nikki."

"Nikki? As in…?"  
"Sometimes I get blocked and… that helps me flesh out the scene. Act them out a little. I didn't realise it was still there."  
"And you've been blocked lately?" They hadn't really talked about that weird couple of weeks when she thought she'd lost him but she recalled him saying he wanted to shake up this book. Something passed behind his eyes and she wasn't quite sure what is was but then he smiled at her, a smile she'd seen more in the past few days then she'd ever seen the whole time she'd known him.  
"But I'm more inspired than I've ever been and I don't think I'll be needing her any more. Now, my beautiful muse, can I interest you in that shower you mentioned earlier?"

She dropped the doll on his desk, wrapping both arms around him, leaning down to capture his lips with her own.  
"Just for the record, she looks nothing like Nikki," she whispered against his lips. "And I'm more than happy to remedy any blocks in the future."  
She rose from his lap, taking hold of his hand and pulled him up to follow her to the master bathroom. He grabbed the Nikki doll and dropped it in the trash can. Nope. He wouldn't need it again. She'd make sure of that.


	9. Coincidence

**Coincidence.  
Season 3.**

She had missed him. Not that she'd admit that to him. She easily pretend his absence hadn't affected her the way it had. She would readily admit she hadn't come to like having a tag along at her side. That she missed his voice and how he filled the silence in her days when leads turned up dead ends and she needed to think of her next step. Even on days when his theories were more convoluted that the last and he'd spin tales taller than the skyscrapers they were driving past. No, she wouldn't ever tell him any of that.

He got lost in one of his tales, weaving twist after twist and she was having trouble getting him back to the evidence at hand. He'd argued his point once they were on their way back to the precinct, his voice filler her cruiser and she just needed the theorising to stop long enough to collect her thoughts. She turned the radio on, one tried and true way to get him back on track when her logic didn't sway him.

He groaned. She laughed, not quite believing her luck.  
"Beckett, at least change the station. Please," he complained, reaching to do it himself. She batted his hand away, instead turning the volume up and throwing him a look that told him to keep his hands to himself.  
"You know the rule. My cruiser, don't touch anything."  
"Everything about this song… it's just…" He scrubbed his face. "You know I can't stand it."  
"Yes, I've heard you complain about it. A lot."  
"Did she even look up the definition of 'ironic'?" He turned his attention to the streets passing by, the people walking the pavements and the city around them as she tried not to laugh at his clear aggravation. _Oh how the tables turn, writer boy._ She took that moment to sing along, rather obnoxiously, and really see how much she could annoy him.  
"It's like raaaaaaaaaaaain on your wedding day!" She saw his head whip around and she had to fight to maintain a straight face, a look of disinterest she was used to having to wear. Like she wasn't pushing his buttons right now.  
"Really Beckett?"  
 _Victory!_

The song lasted the rest of the ride back to the precinct and by the end of it she could see he was amused at her antics. She really had missed him. This banter, this teasing. It was nice to have him back. "You know, you have a lovely voice Beckett. Next time, let's find a better song and maybe we can duet."


	10. Happy Birthday

Kate wakes Castle up with baby Lily and coffee in bed. With a little help from Alexis she's planned this year's birthday surprise.

Because of how small Lily is still she can't go all out like in previous years but knows he'll enjoy this just as much.

"Happy birthday Rick." She gives him a kiss as she sits on the bed next to him, bouncing Lily in her lap. "If you want your presents babe, you're gonna have to find them." She teases with a kiss and hands him Lily. "Happy birthday Daddy!" she says as Rick takes their daughter.

"We've hidden 10 eggs around the loft and 5 presents." Alexis explains, as she hands her Dad a basket and gives him a kiss too. "Happy birthday Dad."

"And an Easter present for Lily. So, you up for the challenge Castle? You've got Lil to help you out while we start on breakfast."

Castle grinned like a kid, practically jumped out of bed, Lily tucked against his side and walked across the bedroom to put his slippers on.

"The presents are wrapped so you'll know them if you find them…" Kate teased again, rising from the bed and giving her husband and daughter a kiss each before she followed Alexis into the kitchen to start breakfast for everyone. "But don't open them without us!" She called back over her shoulder.

"Best birthday ever," he announced to the loft as he started to look around their bedroom. "What do you think Lilypad? Where shall we begin?"

 _Written as a quick drabble at Easter/Rick's birthday. Just remembered it. Castle album "Always" is now at 19 songs and I've got two more planned to finish. Hope to share it soon!_

 **Thank you to all the reviewers. I love the prompts so far. They've been added to the list but I've been in a creative frenzy in the studio for the last week so haven't written any new stories. Got a couple coming up though. Keep sending. Love you all!**


	11. All That The Light Touches

**All That The Light Touches.**  
 **Post-series.**

They'd wrapped Lily up warm and snug, unsure of how cold it might be but as Kate checked on her, cuddled in her Daddy's arms she knew their little girl was content. She huddled into her husband's side, his arm wrapping around her, holding his girls close and she knew he would make it his mission to keep them both warm if they needed it.

Once they'd stepped out on observation deck, Castle had lifted her from her stroller, her face lighting up at the sight of her Daddy. He held her tight against his chest, held Kate tight at his side and led them to a spot free of tourists and looked out over the city they call home. Making sure the stroller wouldn't roll off, Kate wrapped her arm around her family, cradling her daughter's stomach as Castle turned Lily to look this way and that, her head on his shoulder but her curious eyes flicking everywhere.

"This is it sweetpea. This is where you're going to grow up," He looked down at his little girl, hey eyes flicking between her Mom and Dad as she noticed she had their attention. "What do you think, huh?" He placed a kiss on her head, smiling down at Kate who reached up to his lips for a kiss of her own. Kate couldn't believe the sight before her. This man and their little girl,

"Everything the light touches is our kingdom," He told Lily.  
Kate snorted. "Did you just quote the Lion King? Really?"  
Kate laughed, taking Lily from his arms for a cuddle. "Don't start presenting her to New York, writer boy."  
Castle feigned indignation, pulling Kate into his front so he could hug them both from behind. He placed kisses to the side of Kate's head and they watched the world go by below them for a moment.  
"What about that shadowy place Daddy?" Kate asked, playing along with his game, turning Lily to look at Castle.  
"That's beyond our borders. You must never go there, Lily…. That's New Jersey."  
Kate's sudden outburst of laughter made Lily jump a little and she quickly reassured her daughter. "Sorry Lily, Daddy's being silly. But we love him for it, don't we Lilypad?"  
Castle leaned in front of his daughter and made faces at her, making her squeal. Kate pressed a kiss to his jaw after rolling her eyes at his shenanigans.

They stood and looked at the city, each taking Lily in turns to point out the places they wanted to show her as she grew. They each recounted stories of exploring the city as kids and Castle remembered adventures with Alexis, looking forward to the adventures he was to have with his wife and youngest daughter. He pressed another few kisses to Lily's cheeks and strapped her back into her stroller. "What do you say Lily? Shall we go and explore your kingdom a little sweetpea? There's a coffee shop down the block that will make Mommy a very happy Mommy." Kate glared playfully at him, taking the stroller from him.  
"Come on Lil, if we get there before him, Daddy has to pay!" she called over her shoulder.  
Castle laughed and followed. He'd follow his girls anywhere.

While Castle got their coffees while Lily napped in her stroller, she took her phone out and looked at the photo they'd taken. Lily cuddled between the two of them, the kingdom of New York laid out at the feet of the Castle family.


	12. International Tigers Day

**International Tiger Day.  
** **Post Series.**

It still amused her. All these years later, all they'd been through and she saw her husband visibly gulp when they'd walked up to the tigers section. He wasn't scared but she knew he remembered the fear of what these creatures could do. She remembered those moments of dread but they were never gonna be in a position to be that close to one again. She hoped.

Castle lifted Lily so she could see over the railings down into their habitat, her legs wrapping around his waist and her arm wrapped around his neck. Kate leant into his other side.

"Don't worry Rick," she teased ever so slightly. He gripped both of them a little tighter.

"Look Daddy, Mama! Kitties!" Lily squealed. Kate laughed. Her daughter sure loved cats, especially the one Alexis had recently adopted from a shelter.

"I see them Lilypad," she assured her. "Look, there's a baby one."

Lily followed her Moms arm and saw that a tiny cub was tumbling around in the grass and playing with it's mother. Kate laughed at the way it would nudge her and run off and come back for seconds. "Its playing with it's Mommy, like you play with your Mommy," Castle told her. Lily looked at Kate with a smile.

"Love playing with Mama," Lily said as Kate leant in to kiss her.

"My favourite thing in the world is playing with you Lil," Kate told her.

Lily squealed again. The tigers were definitely entertaining their 3 year old and she waited for the… "Mama, Daddy, can we get one?"

Castle choked. Kate rubbed his back sympathetically. "Told you bribing her with ponies and unicorns would come back to bite you," she teased.

"Don't say bite in front of the tigers," he staged whispered.

Kate bit her tongue. "Lily, Daddy isn't a big fan of tigers. Maybe, after your brothers are here and a bit bigger we can get a dog…"

Lily regarded her father with the same look he'd seen Kate wear into interrogation rooms. "Daddy, why not?"

Castle sighed. "A long time ago, before Mommy and Daddy had you, even before Mommy was Daddy's girlfriend, we had a run in with a tiger. We were in trouble and a tiger wasn't very nice to Mommy and Daddy for a little while but then we were very clever and we got away from it long enough for Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin to send help."

Kate's heart melted at the look of indignation on Lily's face that was swiftly replaced with resolve. The look Castle referred to as 'The Beckett'. She looked back at the tigers, back at her Mom and Dad and back at the tigers again. The arm around his neck held a little tighter, holding her other arm out to Kate to take her hand as she turned her attention back to the habitat.

"Mr Tiger, please don't be mean to my Daddy and my Mama again. They're my Daddy and Mama and I love them. Its not nice to pick on people," Lily told them.

Castle buried his face in Lily's hair, a laugh threatening to rip from him as he looked at his wife who was grinning, tears brimming from the combination of hormones and joy and love her daughter gave her. Castle brushed kisses to his daughters head. She was so much like her Mom and he loved it.

"We love you, Lilypad," Kate pressed kisses to her face until she was giggling in her Dads arm and the stern look had fallen from her face.

Feeling like Lily had had her fill of the tigers, Castle lowered her back to the floor. " Thanks for looking after us sweetpea. How about we head over and see the elephants? They're Mommy's favourite," he suggested.

Lily jumped "mine too!"

"They are?" He joked. It had been a battle to convince her to leave her stuffed elephant at home this morning, Castle not wanting a repeat of the last time they'd lost it at the park and he'd run all the way back to find it.

"Come on Mama," Lily said, grabbing Kate's hand and heading away from the tigers. She grabbed Castle, wrapping her arm around his waist, content to let Lily pull them along.

Castle threw one last look at the tiger sign and smirked. That day would forever be etched in his mind as one of the weirdest experiences they'd ever been through but watching Lily tell off a pack of tigers was something he'd chuckle over when ever he thought about it. The cuffs also hadn't been too bad either.

Kate leaned closer to him. "Next time we did it without the tiger," she whispered so their daughter wouldn't here.

He laughed. "There were a lot more times without the tiger. That might he how we ended up with Mini-you down there," he joked. Kate rolled her eyes, kissing his jaw and continued to follow their daughter, gently guiding her as they came up on the sign leading to the elephant enclosure.

A day off at the zoo with her entire world; quality time with Lily before the twins were born. They'd sit at the elephant enclosure for a little while so Kate could rest for a moment and she was excited to see these particular animals with her little girl and knew that the excitement she'd shown over the tigers would be tenfold now.

"You know she's going to ask you for an elephant once we get there, right?"

Happy international tiger day. Little drabble I threw together. Castle family at the zoo. Hope you like.


	13. Hamptons Sleep

**Hamptons Sleep.  
Post series.**

It was 6.30am when his eyes opened, straining to see the numbers on the clock beside him. That struck him as odd. Not that that was the time but that they hadn't had a little bed invader yet. Usually Lily got up with Kate in the morning, having breakfast with her Mom before climbing into bed with her Daddy for a cuddle while Kate got ready for work. Even on days off it was rare that Lily didn't climb into bed with them early. Especially when they were in the Hamptons. They'd brought Lily here enough times that she knew the house was a friendly place and their room was just down the hall from hers. They always left her door cracked to hear her but it was so different to loft that for the first night or two when they'd come out here she'd call for them and one of them would go to her and bring her into bed with them, coax her into a nap for a little while longer before they got up and started the day.

He checked Kate was still sleeping. She was spooned into his back and looked relaxed in sleep. She'd needed the break and he was content to let her sleep a little longer. He slipped from bed, grabbed his robe and headed down the hall to Lily's room. The door was open and he found her toddler bed empty. For a moment his sleep-addled brain panicked. His gaze flicked to the top of the stairs but he was relieved to see the stair gate had been closed when they'd gone to bed, which meant she couldn't have gone very far. When his brain finally caught up with his waking state he turned to the room opposite Lily's. Alexis' room. Of course. Alexis had arrived last night, a few days after them, to spend the weekend with them. He pushed her door openly gently and couldn't believe how amazing the sight before him was. Alexis lay on her side, one arm tucked under her pillow, fast asleep, her arm other wrapped over a sleeping Lily who lay on her back, starfish and arms akimbo over Alexis' king size bed. His little girls. How gorgeous they both were. How fiercely they loved each other. Even in sleep Alexis looked like she was protecting her baby sister. He tiptoed into the bedroom, dropping into a seat in the corner and watched them sleep. It amused him how much space a two year old could take up in such a large bed but Alexis just protected her baby sister regardless. He wish he'd picked up his phone to capture this. He wanted to wake Kate so she could see this but he was afraid if he left the room, this moment would be over and he just wanted to savour it for a minute more. He remembered watching Alexis sleeping when she was a little girl and once again was amazed and proud of the young woman she'd become. Lily took his breath away every single day with everything she did. How did he get to be so lucky?

He sat for a while longer until he noticed it starting to get light outside. He slipped out of the room and headed downstairs to the kitchen. He set the coffee machine to brew, made a bottle for Lily and grabbed three mugs and tray. Once all the drinks were made, he loaded up the tray and headed back upstairs. Slipping back into Alexis' room first, he placed her coffee on her bedside table, leaving Lily's bottle with it for when them to wake up to. He looked back at them once again and retreated to his bedroom. Kate was just waking, her arm patting his side of the bed as she reached for him, head turning towards the sound of his steps when he walked in with the tray carrying their drinks.

"Lily okay?" she asked, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. He placed the tray on his bedside table and handed her coffee over with a good morning kiss. She smiled into it and held him close for a second longer. "Mmm, morning."  
"Morning," he smiled, placing one more kiss on her lips. "Lily's fine. Snuck into Alexis' room at some point. They were still asleep a minute ago. I left a bottle for her and a cup of coffee for Alexis. I'm sure we'll hear them any minute," Castle climbed back into bed with his cup of coffee. Kate instinctively leant into him and he curled an arm around her.  
Kate smiled, savouring the first sip of coffee. "She's in bed with Alexis?"  
"Yeah, taken over the whole thing actually. Alexis is pushed up right against one side and Lily is laying right next to her, arms and legs everywhere. I'm sorry I didn't wake you. Wasn't sure how long they'd lay like that."  
"Poor Alexis," Kate chuckled. "She's probably gonna need that coffee when she wakes up."

They sat, enjoying some time together, drinking their coffee and the peace of the early morning. Before long they could hear voices, meaning Lily was awake and had probably woken Alexis too. They heard giggling and chatter, two sisters plotting something most likely, and then the undeniable thud of Lily's feet heading down the hall to their door.

"Mama! Daddy! Wake up!" Lily announced as she came through the door.  
"We're awake Sweetpea, we've been waiting for you!" Castle said as he placed his and Kate's mugs back on the tray. He opened his arms for his baby and Lily ran to the his side, bottle tucked under her arm. Castle lifted her up onto the bed, showering her face with kisses and blowing raspberries on her neck. She giggled and tried to squirm away. "No Daddy!"  
Lily plopped herself down between her parents, leaning into to Kate and pulled her bottle up to her mouth, fluttering her eyelashes up at her Mom as Kate wrapped an arm around her for their morning cuddle, running her fingers through her daughters hair. "And where have you been young lady? Did you wake your sister up?"  
"You wouldn't do that, would you Lily?" Alexis said as she appeared at the door, nursing her own drink. "Good morning. Room for one more Castle?"  
Kate pulled her feet up and patted the bed in front of her. Alexis joined them all, sitting crossed legged at the end and sipping her coffee. "Do we need to thank the coffee fairy for our delivery this morning?" she teased.  
"That was your Dad. Apparently he let us all sleep in a little this morning," Kate smiled, content to play with Lily's hair while Lily happily enjoyed her bottle. She leant her head against her husband's shoulder, smiling at him when he glanced her way. Alexis stretched her legs out over her Dads, leaning back a little and Castle wrapped one hand around her calf. He loved having all his girls together.  
"Thanks for getting up with Lily, pumpkin," Castle squeezed her leg.  
"It wasn't so much getting up as pulling back the covers so she could climb in," Alexis smiled at her sister. "Always happy to cuddle with my baby sister."

They sat in bed while the girls finished their drinks, making plans for the day. If the weather held out they would definitely head down to the beach once they'd had breakfast. See who could build the biggest sandcastle. Jump waves. Lily wanted to show Alexis her new swimming costume and arms bands. They could go for a walk. Maybe collect some shells. Have a picnic. As long as the Castle family were together.

For the rest of the weekend, when one of them got up to check on Lily in the morning they found her asleep with Alexis, taking up most of the bed with her big sister protecting her.

 **Just a little something that popped into my head this evening.  
Thanks for reading, a massive thank you to everyone leaving reviews! **


	14. 100 Coffees

**100 Coffees.  
** **Set before 5x01 After The Storm.**

She'd done it.

They'd done it.

Well, they'd done it several times at this point. Kate smirked.

Her internal clock had awoken her before him. She knew he wasn't an early riser, that she'd often woken him when she'd called him out to crime scenes in the morning. Now she was in a position to find out just exactly what Richard Castle was like in the morning.

She lay in his bed. Watched the rise and fall of his chest. Marvelled at how now. even in his sleep, she was drawn to it. She'd wanted this, him, for so long and he'd taken her back. He hadn't shut the door in her face. He hadn't asked her to leave. They had a shot.

She watched him sleep for a little while longer. There was nowhere else she wanted to be more than next to him at this very moment. Her hand traced circles over his pecks before curling around his bicep as she propped her head up to watch him. She watched the twitch in his lips, the smile as her fingers circled back and forth on his skin. She hadn't seen enough of that smile in recent weeks. He'd pulled away. He been angry at her. God, the fight they'd had just a couple of nights ago.

 _I bring you a cup of coffee every morning just to see a smile on your face._

He really had. For as long as she could think back in their partnership he'd bought her a cup of coffee. The only times she could remember when he hadn't had been when he'd been upset with her. She wanted to put that behind them. She wanted the "us" part to start now.

 _If you see her tell she owes me about a 100 coffees._

She leant up, placed a kiss to his jaw and slipped out of bed. She grabbed his shirt from the floor, slipped into the bathroom quickly and, after making sure he was still asleep, made her way into the kitchen. She eyed the coffee maker, remembering the burns and spills she'd had at the precinct and decided it best to skip that in her current attire. She had plans for Castle once he was awake and that didn't include cleaning up any mess she made in his kitchen. She'd been to the loft enough times to know where he kept his French press and she rummaged through the cupboards until she'd found the coffee. She brewed a pot, eyes flicking back towards his bedroom door every few minutes just to reassure herself that she wasn't going to wake him. She poured them each a mug and headed back to rouse the man she wanted to put a smile on the face of.

 _This is the first. I'll work my way up to 100, Castle._ She promised herself and him before walking through the door.


	15. Secret's Safe With Me

**Secret's Safe With Me.  
Season 2/3**

She doesn't know when he found out but he had. He'd probably worked the information out of Montgomery at some point. Or Ryan had let slip. She didn't celebrate the day herself, not since her Mom had passed, so she'd been confident the day would pass without fanfare. But she should have known he'd find out. He'd been shadowing her long enough now that she was kind of surprised he hadn't hounded her about it sooner.

There, on her desk, a gift lay. He was nowhere to be seen but there it lay. She'd put it in a drawer. Make him take it back. But as she sat in her chair, placed her coffee down and pulled today's paperwork towards herself, her eyes flicked back to the gift. She lifted the box back out of the drawer and looked around. No one was watching. She read the note on top.

 _Secret's safe with me, Detective. This made me think of you - Castle._

She lifted the lid. The t-shirt that lay inside actually had made her laugh. Folded in such a way that she could see the bold font across it, it read "I like coffee and maybe 3 people". She knew him well, could easily imagine the smirk that would have crossed his face when he saw that, the smug grin when he snuck it in here.

She could count on one hand the amount of people she truly cared about. He was one of them. Not that she was ready to admit that to him. She shook her head, replacing the lid and slipped the box into her bag.

She grabbed her cell. _I don't know who you got it out of, but thank you._

Her cell beeped a few seconds later with his reply. _Happy birthday, Kate._

* * *

 _Inspired by a photo prompt on Tumblr. I really want that t-shirt!_


	16. Bathtime Battles

**Bathtime Battles.  
Post series.**

She'd only stepped out for a moment. Just to check on Lily and grab the twins pyjamas before returning to the water battle her sons were putting up against their father. She'd laughed and cheered Jake and Reece on as the toddlers had splashed and played with their water toys and as soon as Castle had been outnumbered she'd returned to a husband who was dripping with bath water and two boys who looked thoroughly pleased with themselves.

"I think they saved you a shower later, babe." She grabbed him a towel to dry his face. "I'll finish up. Go change." Castle splashed the boys one more time before he left their bathroom, running the towel over his face and his hair. "Okay, my little monsters, pyjamas and storytime." She lifted Reece from the tub first, drying him all over and running a towel over his hair. She smiled at his tousled looks, reminding her of his Dad when he woke up from a nap. She wrapped him in his towel and he was content to wait while she sorted out his brother. She lifted Jake out but as soon as his feet touched the bathroom floor and she lifted her hands, he took off like a shot, giggling as he ran butt naked through the loft. Kate sighed, looked at Reece who just looked at her with a look that suggested he was the innocent one. "You and I both know you're just as bad as your brother," she lifted him into her arms and carried him out to her bedroom. Castle emerged from their wardrobe, took in the look of tired amusement on her face and looked for the other boy. "We've got a runaway. Take Reece and I'll get Jake."

Kate grabbed the pyjamas she'd left on their bed as Castle took Reece, dropping on to their bed, Reece squealing as his Dad tickled him as he started to dress him for bed. She walked through their shared office and out into the living room in search of her other son. Sometimes, they were too cute for her liking. When she needed to be stern with them they used their cuteness as a weapon against her. Suspects and killers? No problem. Her kids? They all knew they were adorable and they worked it to their advantage. Just like their father did.

Right at this moment, she was getting a frightening vision of both the past and the future all at once. Jake sat atop the kids rocking horse, which Castle had recently adorned with a police hat, and was riding back and forth, chattering away to himself, lost in his world of imaginary foes and races to win.

"Jacob Castle! What do you think you're doing?"

Jake's head shot around to look at his mother, that Castle grin that he'd inherited spreading across his face. "Riding da horsey!" He went back to his game, chasing god knows what through the streets of New York.

The image of her husband, back before they'd known each other, flashed through her mind. Oh god. She really was going to be in trouble when her boys got older.

"Oh Jake, buddy, you're not meant to do that for at least another eighteen years," Castle joked as he walked up behind his wife, Reece sitting on his hip. He looked at her with such amusement and pride in his eyes as he slipped his arm around her waist and squeezed.

Kate lifted an eyebrow at him, exasperated at the smug look she was receiving from him.

"Hey, you asked for mini-me's," he reminded her. "And that's about as mini-me as it gets."

"Your poor Mother," she teased back before grabbing her son and wrestling pyjamas on to him.


	17. Captain

**Captain.  
Pre Season 8.**

Breakfast with Martha was something she was trying to cherish. Even though she was excited to to finally be living with her husband on their own, at least until Alexis graduated, she had to admit it would be strange not to wake up to the morning greetings of her mother-in-law. Martha Rodgers was one of a kind and the little morning ritual of having breakfast together, brewing tea and just having a quick catch up before their days invariably went off in different directions was one she'd come to enjoy. Martha had welcomed Kate into the family, before she'd even really been apart of the family, and she would miss her energy around their home.

Kate finished her cup of coffee, sitting at the kitchen island and listened to Martha's plans for her new place, going a mile a minute as per usual. She could just picture the different animals prints scattered around her new home. She loved the enthusiasm and excitement in the older woman.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I have a gift for you, darling," Martha declared with a clap of hands and before Kate could wonder what she was doing she was dashing across the room to the bag she'd left on the sofa when she'd descended the stairs for the breakfast together.  
Kate watched her with curiosity and braced herself. "Martha, I'm the one that's meant to give you the housewarming present."

"Oh, don't worry, Richard has already been given a list." She returned to her seat, placing a gift box in front of Kate.

Kate smiled, placing her mug back down and regarded the box before, wondering what on earth her mother-in-law had done. After a curious glance at Martha who waited eagerly, Kate lifted the lid.

Inside lay a plaque with the words _Katherine Beckett. Captain._ engraved across it. Wood and brass, polished to perfection. She ran her fingers across the elegant font, feeling the depth of the words a whole lot deeper, like this made it all the more real. It was gorgeous and she was beyond honored and touched that Martha had done this for her.

"Oh Martha, I… I don't know what to say," Kate looked at Martha, love and pride shining on her face. "This is stunning, but you really didn't need to do this. The NYPD would have given me a new one."

"No offense to the NYPD, Katherine, but I've seen what you have to work with and this is more befitting of a Captain of your stature. Beauty, elegance, grace." Martha reached over to squeeze her hand. "You're going to be a wonderful Captain."

Kate turned and wrapped her arms around Martha. This incredible, strong, caring woman who never ceased to show her such love and warmth. "Thank you Martha. For everything." The weight of that statement hung above them a moment as Martha returned her hug and held her a little tighter.

When they let go, Kate turned back to gift before her, finding it fitting that Martha would choose to include her full name, the only person in the world to call her Katherine. "I will display this proudly."

"Good. Oh, it's so thrilling to have a Captain in the family," Martha told her, theatrics returning to their morning banter. "Despite what my son my call himself when flying those ridiculous remote control helicopters of his!"

Kate laughed. Yes, her mornings would certainly be different without Martha.


	18. Chicken Noodle Soup & Candles

**Chicken Noodle Sup & Candles.  
Season 8.**

Her nose was stuffy. Her sinuses hurt. Her chest stung. Her head felt heavy. This was what overworked felt like? She'd survived years of late nights and early mornings, sleeping when the case was closed, running on nothing but coffee, catching killers and it took becoming Captain to truly make her feel like she was worn beyond her limit.

She loved her job but between her Captain duties, her investigation into LokSat and trying to make up time with her husband, Kate was feeling a little spread thin. Getting a cold on top of that was something she didn't have time for. He'd been texting her all day, dropping off food and coffee when she had a minute between cases and meetings and promised to see her tonight for date night once he returned from chasing a lead with Ryan and Esposito.

She was looking forward to a bath and their bed but she knew how much these date nights meant to him, to both of them. They were an important part of healing the hurt she'd caused and she loved getting him to herself for an evening but the stress of the competition that was starting to gear up between them was adding to her already aching head. She would soldier through it to see the smile on his face when he unveiled whatever he planned for her. She loved him more than anything and she could push this all aside for a night with him.

She walked into the loft, her heels leaving her feet before the door had even finished swinging shut behind her and she dropped her bag and jacket onto the sofa. Castle emerged from the office just as she was about to dive into their bedroom to change for date night but he got to her first, opening his arms to her. He hid a smile in her hair as Kate fell into his him, relieving some of the tension in her body as he wrapped her in his arms.

"Long day?" Castle ran his hands through her hair and applied a little pressure to her neck in a soft massage, holding her close.

Kate leaned up on her toes to kiss him. "Give me a second to change and then we can go do whatever you've got planned."

She tried to move away but he pulled her back into his arms. "The only thing you're going to do is get into your comfiest clothes, climb into bed and relax." He told her, turning her and pushing her towards their room, following behind her.

"But it's date night babe. Let me just…"

"We're going to have a night in and you're going to take it easy," Castle told her.

"Rick…"

"You're getting sick Kate. As much as I know you don't give in, let me take care of you."

"I'm fine. Promise. Just let me change and we'll do whatever you want tonight."

She stopped when she saw the candlelight filling their room as he moved her through the doorway. Every available inch of space was covered with blue tealights, bathing the room in a warm yellow glow. After the chaos of the precinct, he'd turned their room into a haven of serenity and peace for the two of them to be with each other and leave the world outside.

"Get comfy. Dinner is ready and I'll bring it in here for us. Then we're going to lay here, cuddle and, if you're a good patient, a certain mystery writer may be tempted to read a few chapters of his latest book to his beautiful wife." He swallowed, wrapping his arms around her from behind, like he was afraid she'd argue. "I'm gonna take care of you. Please, Kate. Let me take care of you."

She turned in his arms to look at him, thinking once again how grateful she was that he was there with her. She saw the lingering hurt lurking behind his eyes, knowing all he ever wanted to do was protect her, whether it was from her enemies or the common cold. This man would take on anything with her. And that was date night had become to her. Making it up to him for taking that choice away from him. And truth be told, she had been dying to come home to bed all day and the fact that he'd laid out candles and he really wanted to give her this.

He pushed her towards the bed where he'd already laid out one of his t-shirts and a pair of her yoga pants to slip into. He'd turned the bed down already, placed a box of tissues on her bedside table, Driving Heat resting on his side of the bed and her heart swelled. He'd taken care of her all day because he knew she didn't feel good and she'd tried not to let on so she didn't spoil his night. Richard Castle was an amazing man. She made a mental note to do something outstanding for him next week when it was her turn to plan.

She took no time at all to change, pulled her hair up into a messy bun and slipped under the covers to wait for the love of her life to return. He appeared through the doorway, a tray laden with steaming bowls, crackers, tea and a bag of her favourite M&Ms. He perched the tray on the bed in front of her, placed her tea next to the tissues then handed her a bowl and a spoon. "Freshly made 'Magical Healing Soup'," Castle kissed her on the head again as she accepted her bowl. He joined her on his side of the bed with his own bowl.

"You made me chicken noodle soup, babe?" She let out a short laugh.

"Yes, which you love to eat when you're sick. So if it makes you feel better, its magical."

 _Just like you_ , she thought as she looked at him. "Thank you."

Castle took his bowl and leaned back against the headboard and together they ate, talking a little about their days and the case the boys were working on, occasionally feeding each other crackers. When their bowls were empty, Kate placed her bowl back on the tray and cuddled into her husband's side.

"I love you," she told him, head nuzzling into his neck where she could smell his aftershave and that distinct smell that was unique to him.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah, a little. Heads a little clearer and that soup was really good. I love when you cook for me," Kate told him, trying to get a little closer. For the first time since entering their room she noticed the smell. She looked around, the candles the only thing different about the room that she could see. "Babe, what's that smell?"

"Oh good, if you can smell them then it must be working. I bought some vapour candles."

Kate looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "What on earth are vapour candles?"

"Well, it _is_ date night and I knew you wouldn't be in the mood for me to apply vaporub so I found these candles," He pointed around the room. "When you light them they fill the room with menthol vapour to clear your head. Had them shipped on Prime. Now you get a romantic night in bed and you get to feel better."

Kate wondered if there would be a day when she'd stop being surprised by Richard Castle, or by his shopping habits, but she truly didn't want that day to come.

"I really do love you, Rick. So much." She leant her head against his, her heart so full from this man beside her.

"I love you too," he replied, kissing her with a tenderness that only served to make her heart yearn for him more. "Now, sit back and relax, let me take these out and change and then you're private reading with the world famous Richard Castle begins." He wiggled his eyebrows at her as he handed her M&Ms and made his way into the kitchen. She watched him go, admiring his backside and waited patiently to watch him change. Yes, she felt rough but there was nothing stopping her enjoying her date night with her wonderful, thoughtful and caring man. He crawled under the covers with her once he was dressed comfortably too and knew she'd had a good look at his body, grabbed the book and pulled her into his side.

"Thank you, for taking such good care of me." Kate squeezed his thigh where her hand rested, content to lay with her head resting on his shoulder.

"Always," Castle beamed at her. Getting them into a comfortable position, with one arm around her as she cuddled closer, he opened the book to the first page and began to read. She opened the candy and alternatively fed them both until she was too absorbed in the story and his voice to think of anything else but Nikki, Rook and the arms of the man she loved more than anything wrapped around her.

 **Vapour candles are a real thing. I saw some in a store a couple of weeks ago and I knew it was something Castle would get, especially when he wants to cheer Kate up.**


	19. Justice League of the Castle Household

**Justice League of the Castle Household**  
 **Post series.**

Her phone beeps with an incoming message. "We're ready to help Mommy save the day!" the message reads under the photo of her precious baby boys, Jake wearing a Batman onesie and Reece wearing Superman. They were grinning at their Dad, all Castle's charm radiating from their smiles. God, she missed being at home with her kids and this meeting was taking far too long. She needed to get back to the 12th, clear her desk of paperwork (or as near to clear as a Captain's desk got) and then she could call it a day and go home to her family, the bright center of her universe. The sweetest part of her day was stepping into their loft, kissing her husband, cuddles with her daughter and holding her baby boys.

It was made even sweater when she walked through the door to find a boy in each of her husbands arms as he wore a Green Lantern t-shirt and Lily tearing across the room in her Batgirl t-shirt.

"Look, Wonder Woman's home!" he greeted her.


	20. Number One Fan

**Number One Fan  
Post Series.**

Fresh air and relaxation. He'd promised Kate a quiet weekend by the sea, some time to unwind and be together before the baby came. He'd surprised her with her advanced copy, had managed to get Gina to hand it over a lot earlier than she usually would so Kate would have time to read before Lily became their focus. Once they'd arrived at the Hamptons this morning he couldn't wait any longer and handed it to her, eager to see the smile light her face when she set her eyes on it.

Usually she'd reserve reading it away from his persistent questions and staring. Draw herself a bath, light some candles and lose herself for an hour between the suds and the pages. But she just wrapped her arms around him, stretched up on her toes to kiss him and before his mind had caught up with his body she'd slipped off to their room and changed into shorts and one of his t-shirts to recline on the beach. He'd followed her down, armed with blankets, pillows, an umbrella and a cooler as she carried their towels and books down. He'd struggled a little and refused her help but eventually he built her a beachfront nest and she'd gotten comfortable among the pillows he'd arranged for her. He lathered sun lotion on her arms just to be safe even though it was only just starting to warm up, smirking at the eye roll he received but she was indulging his overprotective streak and simply placed a kiss on his lips in thanks for all he was doing for her, grabbed her book and then he lost her to the world of Nikki Heat, Jameson Rook and Derrek Storm

Glasses obscured her eyes so he couldn't quite make out her expressions but the way she absentmindedly stroked her fingers on her baby bump assured him she was fine and he smiled as she shut the rest of the world out. He got comfy himself, watched the world go by for a little while, looked on at the other families playing up the beach from them and he thrilled with the knowledge that that was what the future held for himself and Kate. He smiled at the images swirling in his mind before diving into his own reading for a while. He was a few chapters into Alex Conrad's latest mystery and it was fair to say it was a good read but it was not gripping his attention as fully as the vision next to him.

From the corner of his eye he noticed her body language start to change. With every page she turned her back straightened and she sat a little more rigid. He was concerned at first Lily was making her uncomfortable but she seemed to be getting closer and closer to the book pages. He could see the anticipation, the curiosity, the excitement thrumming through her and he abandoned his book in favour of watching her. She was such an expressive person when they were alone and he relished this opportunity to watch her take in his work. He watched as she smirked, shook her head in amusement and turned the page again. She bit her lip, brow furrowed, taking in the clues he'd scattered and the mystery his words were weaving for her. It reminded him of the countless times she'd swept murder boards, pulling pieces together in her head. He watched as her body physically reacted to the action on the page until the anticipation paid off and, with a gasp, her hand flew to her mouth in shock. He looked on as she carried on reading, letting go of the breath that she'd been holding and relaxed back in to the cushions, This was torture for him. He was dying to know what scene she was on, what had caused that reaction but knew she really hated to be pestered when she was reading. The suspense was killing him.

"Where are you up to?" he asked.

He was met with a shush as she focused her attention solely on the book in her hands. She'd been so excited for this book. Not that she wasn't thrilled and supportive of his other works, especially when she'd stopped pretending to be annoyed by the Nikki Heat attention. Since the moment he'd mentioned he'd had an idea to combine Storm into the next Heat book she'd asked him endless questions and constantly checked on the progress he was making, eager to read and know what was he had planned for the book. It gave him a thrill to see what his words did to her. He usually left her to have some time to herself but he loved watching her read, her mind working and the thoughts playing across her features.

He knew this book would bring up a lot of feelings and thoughts for Kate and he watched her carefully. She'd eventually confided in him how much the Storm books had meant to her, how proud she was to have inspired Nikki Heat, how happy and honoured she was to share this life with him. The book was as much a way to honour his wife as well as move past this last close call. With Lily on the way he wanted to take some time to be with his family and so he'd given his all to this Heat and Storm book, not sure what the future held for his characters quite yet.

He reached a hand out, laying it atop their unborn daughter and watched his wife a little longer. It was times like this he wished their mind meld did reach into the realms of mind reading. She intertwined her fingers with his as soon as that thought entered his head, placed her bookmark at the end of the chapter she'd just completed and closed the book, tracing the lettering of his name on the book sleeve with reverence and love. She turned her attention to the man at her side, always at her side, and when she raised her glasses to her head he could see the glistening of emotion in her eyes.

He pulled her into her arms, laying a kiss against her forehead and held her close. "What do you think so far?" he asked.

"I love it. I love you. Rick, I'm so proud of you." Her fingers traced his jaw, working their way into his hair and pulling him in for a kiss, pouring all the love and tenderness she felt towards him into it. "I think I'll definitely be reading this one a few more times."

"I don't think you can ever read anything as many times as you read Heat Wave," he teased her,

She tugged his ear gently. "We'll see. Storm and Heat work so well together though. I'm so happy you did this."

"Anything to make my number one fan happy."

She kissed him again, content to be cuddled into his side. She pulled a blanket up over them, the breeze off the ocean chilling her a little but not wanting to move inside just yet. He was relieved she was okay. He thought this one would be difficult to read, that it would bring up some issues and ghosts for her but he hoped that she would continue to enjoy the rest of it. She'd been so excited and it was great to see the smile on her face as she sat with him. He held her close, hands resting together over Lily as they kissed in their little nest on the beach. She picked the book up again, holding it close to her chest.  
"Thank you."

 _A/N Prompt: Beckett reading Heat Storm for the first time. Cause I'm convinced she'd have really gone into fangirl mode over Nikki teaming up with her other favourite fictional character._

 _ **Thank you, as always, for reading. Got a few stories to catch up with and post, few Christmas ones coming too.**_ __

 _I mentioned previously I had been working on a Castle album. "Always" is out now. You can find it at thefifthsister dot bandcamp dot com_


	21. Release Day

**Release Day**

He always found this particular day strange; felt an odd mixture of excitement and dread. He was always optimistic but on this day there was a timid nature to it. All the months of hard work, living in this world with these characters, loving these characters. All the parts of himself, of his wife and their life together that he poured into it. His heart poured out in black and white, paper and print. How could he not be nervous about the reaction to something he cared so deeply about?

It was out of his hands now. It belonged to the world. This piece of himself. A world from the depths of his imagination that he could only hope his fans would connect with once again. It didn't matter to him whether he topped the best seller list every time, though it didn't hurt his ego. He just wanted people to enjoy his work. Sure he was known to procrastinate, that was because he found himself drawn to his muse and had since the moment they met. But once the words hit him he had to get them out. His hopes, his dreams. Their story. He cared more deeply for his work than ever before. He knew he had talent and skill. That wasn't ego. That was years of hard work and honing his craft. But still, he told himself, this was close to his heart.

Kate saw through his bravado. She always had. Had even called him on it early in their partnership. He trusted her enough to be honest in her opinion of his work, was usually the first to read it now. He knew she'd read and enjoyed his work long before any romantic attachment to it. She'd spend the day at his side, reminding and inspiring him all over again. She'd wake him up with coffee, make an attempt at coffee art to make it special for him, which would earn a smile from him. She'd hold him close and whisper words of love and adoration against his lips, show her pride and gratitude and he'd return in kind. They'd whisk off somewhere together, most likely to precinct. Solve crime together. He'd put his mind to work with her and the boys. He'd mostly like see Ryan's head buried in the new book at some point if the day was light for them all. He'd exchange words with a few of the uniforms and watch the smile on Kate's face as she saw his 12th precinct family share congratulations with them both.

Whatever they did Kate would distract him long enough for his daughter's long standing tradition of pouring through every review, every mention of the new release and forwarding him every one, reminding him of how she'd told him all along that people would love it and how proud she was of him. And his mother. Well, they played their games. He knew his mother knew how he felt on this day. That when opening day rolled around she'd get the jitters too. He knew she loved to go to a store and see the evidence of his accomplishments out in the world and people buying copies. Teasing was their way but underneath it he heard the pride in her voice and saw the love in her eyes. He even received calls from Jim Beckett to congratulate him, now the awkwardness of Nikki Heat being inspired by his daughter had passed.

Release day was a strange feeling. The pressure from his publisher, the pressure from his agent, pressure from deadlines that he never stuck to anyway, the pressure of living up to his previous works. He always felt that the new book was the best work he'd done yet. He knew when his writing was good and he never settled for anything less than great. But he also knew public opinion could be a fickle thing and he had learned not to take things for granted in his life.

His ritual now was so far removed from the panic induced isolation that he'd put himself through in the past. Now he had this incredible family to rally around and support him. A wife, daughter and mother who would always be his biggest supporters, sources of inspiration and the people he wanted to make proud. As he lay in bed, watching his muse sleep, trying to quiet his mind long enough to sleep before the big day, he was reminded all over again that as long as they were by each other's side he could do anything and with Kate as his muse he'd never be lost for words again.

He held his wife, his muse, his world a little closer and drifted to sleep.


	22. Powerless To Resist

**Powerless To Resist  
Post Series**

The thing about Castles was that she was powerless to resist them. It had started about a year into her partnership with her husband and had never really let up since then. Now she had a whole household full of them.

The first photo came not long after she got out of her first meeting of the day. Her boys, smiling brightly for the camera as they petted a dog between them. _Subtle, Rick._

The next came mid afternoon when he'd usually call to check in after picking Lily up from school. Lily hugged the same dog as she smiled for her Dad. _Damn it Rick._

The last photo came as she was about to head home to them for the day. Rick and Lily wore matching pouts while her boys continued to smile at the camera, the dog laid out before them enjoying belly rubs. They were having fun dog sitting for the neighbours on the floor below them and now her kids (and she included Rick in that) had started asking for a dog.

She knew the perfect response for them. Loading Google, she grabbed the perfect image.

Castle had set the kids up with a game and started on dinner. His phone buzzed and he figured that was his wife telling him she was on her way home. He opened the message to find a picture of a dog bowl awaiting him.

 _"Shall we take a family trip this weekend and find ourselves a Cosmo?"_


	23. My Treat

**My Treat  
Early Season 4**

Hindsight was a wonderful thing. She knew now that tackling their suspect was a bad idea. She could have let Ryan or Esposito handle it. She knew now it hadn't been the smartest move from the way her scar was now sore. But her cop instincts had kicked in and wasn't that why she was still going to physical therapy, so she could still do her job, still take down suspects?

She'd seen the subtle looks Castle had slipped her in the car on the way back to the precinct. Knew he'd been trying not to coddle her for days now. Was trying to remind her that he knew she was capable, that she had this. She'd caught a glimpse of the pale color of her skin in the rear view mirror. She just hadn't landed right, that was all. An elbow to the gut was never pleasant but as long as she kept her mask in place and focused on her job she'd forget about it. She could manage. She'd been managing so far.

The case took twists and turns. She needed to focus. She hated to give in but she knew Castle was catching on to her and the constant vigilance of her new Captain was grating on her nerves as well. She popped a pain pill when no one was looking. She just hopped that it wouldn't make her feel like a zombie. It's why she'd stopped taking them. She would not give her Captain an excuse to take off the case. She just wanted to sleep it off and start over again tomorrow. When the pill would be out her system and the fog that came with it cleared. They'd hit a dead end and she was frustrated. She remembered Castle trying to tell her she could only do so much but she needed to prove she was still capable of doing her job.

She grabbed her coat and bag, said goodnight to the boys and headed for the elevator. It was only once she was inside that she noticed Castle was still at her side.

"Alexis has just informed me that I'm on my own for dinner tonight. She's taking in a movie with my mother. Got plans tonight?"  
"I think I'm just going to go home Castle," Beckett kept her gaze on the doors ahead of her  
"Let me at least escort you home. Share a cab?"  
"Sure," she agreed, her gaze still ahead.  
"What do you say to some takeout Beckett? Your choice, my treat."  
"I'm fine Castle. Really." She turned to look at him, the irritation starting to creep in. She knew he was concerned, could see it behind his eyes, the way he always looked at her these days. But she was a big girl. She didn't need him taking care of her, as much as he was trying to be subtle about it.  
"I know you're fine," Castle told her. "I just don't want to go home to an empty loft yet."  
He was giving her an out. Food did sound good. And she had missed spending time with him.  
"Chinese?"  
He grinned at her.

Castle followed her through the door into her apartment, bags of takeout in his hand. He walked into her kitchen, watching her slip out of her heels.  
"I'll sort all this out, if you wanna change into something more comfortable," Castle told her. Comfy did sound good right now. He'd been in her apartment before so she knew he had a rough idea of where things were and left to go to her bedroom. She dressed in sweats and a NYPD t-shirt and gave into the feeling that was racking her body. She dropped on to her sofa, pulling her feet up under her as he came in with a plate heaped with her favourite dishes and handed her a bottle of water. He joined her, sitting on the floor and leaning against the sofa in front of her. They ate in comfortable silence, both unwinding from their long day.

She watched him while he ate. Was this what their future could be like? Lazing around the apartment with each other, comfy and happy? She could picture herself leaning forward just enough to run her fingers through his hair, rubbing his neck to ease his tension, maybe slipping her feet round just enough for him to give her a massage. Wow, she was really tired. Usually she could fight those images back but tonight, with him right there, she was picturing a future with him more vividly.

He took their plates when she was finished.  
"Do you need to take another pill?" he asked. She looked at him, shocked. "Kate, I saw you earlier. You don't have to admit it but if you need one at least let me get it for you and a glass of water."

She nodded, gesturing for him to pass her bag and she took out her pills while he got her another drink. He sat back down in his spot and he made small talk, chatting about their case and what trouble he thought his mother and daughter could be getting into together. She got more comfy on the sofa, happy to enjoy the sound of his voice, happy he wasn't leaving just yet.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed as she'd laid on her sofa but she noticed he was pottering around her kitchen, he cleaned the dishes from dinner, tidied around her a little, and that at some point he'd pulled a blanket over her. He was whistling to himself as he pulled out two mugs and she watched as he fiddled with the kettle on her stove. Tea, he was making her tea. She didn't feel good and here was the amazing man, her partner, her best friend, her something more. He was here and he was taking care of her in whatever way he could, whatever way he could get away with. Some days she felt awful for not being better for him but she loved that he was still here by her side after everything. One day Castle. "I love you too," she whispered to him. One day she'd be able to tell him.

 _A/N Prompt: Beckett on pain pills. Birthday fic for kate-beckett on Tumblr._


	24. Morning Coffee

**Morning Coffee  
Post Series**

There was nothing she loved more in the world then waking up to her husband and daughter. She wrestled with the last of sleep that clung to her, an early start to her day but her husband was already up when she finally opened her eyes. It was rare that he would be awake before her but not unheard of. She could hear him in the kitchen, the timbre of his voice mixing with the sweet giggles of her precious daughter. She couldn't hear what they were saying but her heart swelled with the image of her husband doting on their little girl, the way he did with all the women in his life.

She stretched her muscles and pulled herself up to lean against the headboard, mentally preparing for the day ahead. A morning meeting at 1PP and she needed to check in with the progress of some of the cases her detectives were working.

She smiled when she heard Castle and Lily's voices nearing the bedroom. This was one of her favorite sights, something that never failed to make her day, and her life, brighter. Castle entered their room with Lily in one arm, her legs draped over one of his hips, and a cup of coffee in his other hand. His face lit with a smile as Lily said something to make him laugh and he beamed at her as she turned to look for her mother, almost toppling out of his arms when realized Kate was awake. Kate reached out to take her daughter from him as Lily held her arms out.

"Mama, hi."  
"Good morning, little flower," Kate said as she pulled Lily into her arms for her morning kiss. "Did you have good dreams?" Lily laid her head against her Mom's chest, nodding in answer. Kate held her hand out to her husband, pulling him down to join them. "Morning babe."  
Castle climbed into bed next to her, leaning over to kiss her good morning before handing her the coffee. "The munchkin and I made you coffee." Kate took the mug from him. This one was her favorite, a gift from Lily that read "my Mommy is extraordinary". She smiled at the heart that floated on the top, something Castle added on special occasions.  
"I _am_ being spoiled this morning," she joked. "What's going on?"  
"Know you've got a long day and we wanted to make sure it started out good," Castle told her, taking her hand in his own and holding on to it. She never knew she could feel so much love but being in this bed with the loves of her life right now, she'd never felt so happy.  
"Mommy loves coffee, doesn't she Lilypad?" Castle teased.  
"Yes!" Lily agreed, sitting back and looking up at her Mom for confirmation.  
Kate rolled her eyes at her husbands antics.  
"Very funny." She continued to drink and savor this moment with the two of them. This had become a regular banter, Castle trying to convince Lily that her mother was a caffeine addict.  
"Daddy make coffee so happy, Mama," Lily explained.  
"I may have been telling Lily some of our story while we made that," Castle told her. Kate ran her fingers through her daughters hair as Castle wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled them both into his side. Did she really need to go to this meeting? Could she play hooky and stay in bed with the two of them all day?  
"Happy Mama?" Lily asked, cocking her head to the side a little. It was times like these that she most reminded Kate of Castle. Their daughter has his heart, that she's certain of.  
"So happy," Kate reassured her, handing Castle her mug so she could pull Lily in and cover her with kisses. "I've got you and Daddy. Love you, sweet girl."  
"To da moo?"  
Kate smiled. "To the moon and back Lilypad. And how much do I love Daddy?"  
Lily looked at Castle, considering her Daddy who was grinning at the two of them before turning back to her mother, "Ways!"  
Kate laughed, turning to the man beside her. "That's right. I love Daddy always." She leaned in to kiss him. God she loved this man. He'd made her so happy. And it had started with him bringing her coffee to just see a smile on her face. Now he did it with the help of their daughter. Knew they'd keep doing it.

She sighed, resigned to the morning ahead. "I gotta get ready babe," she held the two of them for a moment though, not ready to leave them just yet. "Lily, you gonna help Mommy get ready?"  
It wasn't so much help as Lily sitting on the bed and babbling to her Mom while Kate dressed. She loved her mornings with Lily, eating breakfast with her little girl and trying to decipher the stories she was telling. As she got dressed, she listened to father and daughter as they made plans for their day of adventure and mentally geared herself up to slip into her Captain Beckett role.

She kissed them both as they followed her to the door. "How about we swing by the precinct for a lunch date?" Castle suggested as he and Lily watched her walk down the hall. "Text me when you're back later and we'll at least bring you more coffee and a kiss."

 _A/N: I wrote this back in October for International Coffee Day 2018. Sorry it's taken me a while to remember to post it here._


	25. The Anniversary

**The Anniversary**  
 _Written yesterday for the 20th anniversary of Johanna's death._

Asking for help had never been something that came easy to her but over the years, she'd learned that she was surrounded by family that were always there for her. Today was a hard day. It didn't matter the justice she'd found; the truth she'd bought to light. There would always be days when she wished she could pick up the phone, ask for advice, tell her Mom something funny or something wonderful that had happened to her, share stories, triumphs, heartbreaks, even just complain about work or something as mundane as having a cold. 20 years without her mother. She thought about it all.

She had to admit, the weight was a little easier to bear than it had been. She had someone to shoulder it with, the man who'd helped her get justice, helped her find the truth. She was blessed with this sweet, amazing man who'd held her quietly this morning as the weight of the day had settled. He'd kissed her, told her to take all the time she needed while he went to tend to Lily

She'd dreamt of her Mom last night. It was a little blurred and she couldn't remember all the details but she could clearly see her Mom playing with Lily, telling her how she reminded her of a little Katie, all laughter and endless questions and a stubborn streak to find the answers. She told Kate to hurry up and join them, she was missing out on all the fun just standing there. It hurt to wake to the realization that it was a tender moment that could never be but when she told Castle he simply said "Maybe that's your Mom telling you how proud she is, of you and Lily. You're Dad always tells you how much seeing you together reminds him of you and Johanna."

It had gotten a little easier over time. She wasn't on her own any more. She'd found her Dad again. She had the love of an amazing man. They had the most amazing kid. She had support like she'd never imagined she'd find in her life after that day 20 years ago. It didn't stop the longing, didn't stop her missing her Mom but it helped on those days, like today, when she felt the absence more keenly.

She stood at the dresser, her Mom's ring in her fingers. She didn't wear it after closing the case but she did look at it, remembers how her Mom would play with it the way Kate does with her wedding band when she's thinking. She could smell the breakfast Castle was making. Pancakes. He'd serve them to her and Lily, a smiley face for the both of them. His way of trying to help on days when he felt like he couldn't do much more than be there for her.

She heard the patter of feet and turned in time to see Lily fly through the door, looking for her. She put the ring with its chain back in her jewelry box, closed the lid and pressed a kiss to her fingers and pressed them to the photo of her Mom. Lily tugged on her sweater, holding her arms out for Kate to pick her up.  
"Morning, little flower," Kate greeted her, cradling her head as Lily snuggled into her arms. She walked over to the bed, sitting down before tipping back with Lily on top of her, eliciting giggles from the little.  
"I have a surpwise for you Mommy," Lily told her. "Daddy says you sads cause of Gamma today and we make it better."  
"I miss her a lot today. But cuddles with my silly Lily always make me feel better," Kate told her.  
"Daddy said dat too," Lily tapped her little hand against her chest. "Daddy said to come hug Mommy and tell you bweakfast is weady when you are. Daddy made my fav'rite! He made your fav'rite too."  
"Daddy made chocolate chip pancakes, huh?" Kate snorted at the enthusiastic nod her daughter gave against her, her head tucked under Kate's chin. Lily had a sweet tooth and could wrap her Dad around her finger to indulge it.  
"And there's coffee for you," Castle told her from the doorway. "With a little something special added."

Kate let Lily roll of her, sitting up and beckoning Castle to her to pull her up from the bed. He pulled her straight into her arms, kissing her  
"We made you breakfast," He told her. "If you're up for it that is." Kate looked up at him with a smile and kissed her thanks gently across his jaw.  
"And I mades you a picture for your Cap'n desk," Lily told her, as she took her Mom's hand and led her through the loft and into the kitchen. Kate couldn't stop the laugh that always bubbled up when Lily called her desk at the 12th that, made sure Kate knew to take it to work with her and not on her desk in the loft. Lily sat at the table and picked up the drawing she'd done, colorful swirls and blobs, and showed it to Kate, who could make out that it was a drawing of the family, Lily in the middle of her and Castle, playing at their swings.  
"This is fantastic," Kate told her. "I can't wait to show Uncle Javi and Uncle Ryan us playing with Daddy."  
"Wuv you Mommy," Lily told her as Kate leant over Lily's chair to hug her. Lily climbed onto her knees, turning in the seat to hug Kate properly.  
"Love you Lilypad," Kate told her, resting head to head with her little girl.  
"To da moon and back."  
"To the moon and back." Kate agreed, rubbing noses with Lily before she let go, making sure Lily sat back in her seat properly before slipping into the seat next to her. Castle served them both pancakes and handed Kate her coffee, heart floating on the top. She took a sip and could taste the hazelnut he'd added from the syrups that Alexis had bought her for Christmas.  
"Dis one is for Gwampa," Lily continued showing off her artwork. Kate looked over it, heart in her throat as she looked at more colorful swirls and blobs, and could see the people they were meant to represent. The red swirls were clearly Alexis and Martha, the small swirl Lily with her and Castle and her Dad on the otherside and at the top of the page... "Dat's Gwampa and dats my elepant and dats you Mommy and dats Daddy and Wexie and Gwam. And Gamma watching over us."  
She had to close her eyes for a moment. Oh sweet, sweet Lily. Sweet Lily with her fathers tender heart and caring nature, always trying to make her family smile.  
"Grandpa is going to love it. We'll give it to him tonight at dinner, okay?"  
"Wuv my Gwampa."  
"I know you do sweetheart," Kate smiled. Lily would make him smile today. If anyone could do it, it was Lily. She'd made everyone's life so much  
"Wuv Gamma too."  
Oh her heart. She looked up at Castle who watched the two of them, offering his wife a sympathetic smile and a look of pride for the amazing kid they were raising.  
"You can tell them both that later. We'll see Grandma after breakfast and then after your nap this afternoon Grandpa will be here." Kate helped Lily cut her pancakes and made sure she started to eat her breakfast, not having an appetite herself but eating her own pancakes to encourage her daughter. 

She'd always miss her Mom. Always wish she could experience the joys that were Richard and Lily Castle. Knew she'd have adopted Alexis as a granddaughter right away, would have forged a friendship with Martha. Hell, she'd have probably become friends with Gates and taken Lanie, Ryan and Espo under her wing as well. She hoped her Mom was watching over them at this minute, that she saw this family she'd made and knew that her daughter still loved her fiercely.

 _AN: My youngest cousin never met my Grandad, he was born a few years after he passed away but every picture he drew of our family always included him looking down at us from heaven._

 _Lololava wrote a really sweet fic yesterday about the visit to the cemetery and why they take Lily. Please read it!_

 _Rest in peace Johanna Beckett._


	26. Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

**Law Enforcement Appreciation Day  
** _Part 2 to The Anniversary_

Lily was down for her nap and Kate had sat by her side for a little while, Castle giving her a little space after the trip they'd made to the cemetery.

There were a lot of things that she'd expected to experience as a mother but Lily Castle surprised her mother on a daily basis with the vivacious personality she was coming into. Her warm heart, sunny disposition and sense of humor were all her father. Everyone told her how much Lily was her mini, mostly when she was being stubborn, but days like today she could see the Castle in her little girl. She hoped the baby the were hoping to add to the family would be just as much a character as Lily.  
She pressed a kiss to her forehead and left the room quietly, intent to find her husband and have some time with him. He'd been amazing all day and she needed to see him.

She found him at his desk, working at his laptop but when he noticed her, he closed the lid and rose to hold her.  
"I love you, babe," She told him as he tucked her head under his chin and let him hold her, breathing in his scent, letting it comfort and ground her. "Thank you. For having my back."  
"Always."  
This dance never got old. He would do anything to ease her hurt and she hoped that she could do the same for him.  
"Tell me a story. Any story." Kate requested, pulling him to sit on the sofa with her. They got comfortable, Kate laying with her legs across his lap as he rubbed her calf. She sat, finding warmth and comfort in her husbands voice, as he told stories, about the future, about their hopes and dreams.

Kate's phone came alive, interrupting the quiet time they'd found to be them for a little while. She had the day off and she knew Espo and Ryan would not allow anyone at the 12th to bother her today of all days unless there had been some sort of catastrophe. Concerned, she grabbed her phone and started to flick through the message.

 _Sorry to bother you Captain. Just wanted to thank Castle for the cupcakes._

 _Hey Cap. Thank Castle for us! - LT_

 _Thank you Captain Beckett and thank Castle for us. We really appreciate it!_

Kate looked at Castle who was watching her as she read on. "What did you do?"  
"What do you mean 'what did I do?' I've been sitting here with you," Castle asked, confused with the accusation.  
"Castle, I've got at least 10 messages here from my officers." Her phone beeped again. "That's another 6." She added, smirking at her husband as she saw they all said the same thing. "What is going on?"  
Castle looked a little embarrassed at being caught out, so she braced herself.  
"I was looking at Twitter while you put Lily down and I saw it was Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. I had some cupcakes sent up to the 12th, you know, to thank everyone. Especially Ryan and Espo for covering everything today." Oh, yeah, that's definitely where Lily got that from. Her sweet, amazing husband doing something so outstanding and gracious and treating it like it was his duty to do it rather than the amazing gesture it was. There were days when she really couldn't believe she'd found him.

His phone started beeping now and he pulled it out of his pocket to check, laughing at the photo Ryan had sent him and then showed it to Kate. Espo, Ryan, LT, a few officers and a couple of the new detectives on the floor were in the break room posing with the cakes. Underneath it read _Thanks Castles. Tell Beckett that we love our Captain but we aren't saving her any!_  
She laughed, grabbed the phone and texted back _Captain says back to work! - Beckett_

She looked at Castle, sitting next her like it was only the most natural thing to do. She'd told him before that she had a hard job. She did. He made the hard stuff more bearable and her job a little easier to cope with. He wasn't always at the precinct, spending most days with Lily or writing but his presence was always felt in the bullpen and everyone loved having them.  
"Sometimes, Richard Castle, when I think there isn't anything that can surprise me, you prove me wrong," Kate threw their phones aside, climbing into his lap and wrapping her arms around him.  
"You should know by now, Katherine Beckett, that I enjoy proving you wrong," He teased, swooping in to kiss him.  
"But there is one member of law enforcement that you seem to have forgotten," she teased right back, biting his lip gently as she stole another kiss.  
"Oh, once Lily's in bed tonight I'm definitely going to take time to appreciate my favorite member of law enforcement. But for right now, Captain, you're going to have to settle for the burger and fries I've got coming from Remy's."  
Kate beamed at him. "Ooh, and a shake?"  
Castle feigned hurt. "You think I'd forget your shake?"  
Kate shook her head in amusement, happily taking a few minutes more to kiss her husband. He always managed to make the bad days good.

 _AN: January 9th is law enforcement appreciation day. Seems an appropriate day for Castle to truly look after his family at the 12th even as he spends the day taking care of his wife._


	27. National Hug Day

He loves it first thing in the morning. When it's the two of them. Kate and Rick. Not Beckett and Castle. That moment right as she takes the first sip of coffee that he's just handed to her, freshly brewed and steaming. Watches as the smile starts, the second the liquid passes her lips, touches her tongue, her fingers wrapping round the ceramic and she looks up at him, peace in her eyes and love in her gaze. When she wraps her arms around him and whispers her love against his lips.

He loves the fit of her tiny arms around his neck. The way she lays her head against his shoulder. Just like her Mom. In so many ways like her Mom. Lily quietly seeks him out, tired and wanted him to comfort her. Rock her gently to sleep. So independent but in these moments, when she's just her Daddy's little girl, he holds her close and he's happy.

He loves the celebration. They've just taken their first steps. Jake more confident, Reece still shaky and holding onto his mother's finger tips. They both walk towards him, falling into his arms with a giggle and he whisks them both into the air, cuddles them close, tells them how proud he is as he covers their little faces with kisses. Kate and Rick praise their boys, Jake leaning out of his arms for his Mommy and he pulls Kate and Jake in for a group hug with their boys between them.

She grew up before he was ready to but she still fits neatly, perfectly into his side. When he's got his arms wrapped around her, squeezing every ounce of love he has for her like she'll know without words just how important she is, how perfect she, how proud he is. His Alexis.

His world. As long as he has them. As long as he can hold them in his arms, Kate, Alexis, Lily, Reece, Jake, he's the luckiest guy in the world.

 _Happy hug day (a day late!)_


	28. Coffee, Cake & Bliss

**Coffee, Cake & Bliss  
Set after 7x06 **

It was rare that she had the opportunity to sit back in the passenger seat and watch the man beside her but she found herself unable to look away. Castle drove them back to the city from the Hamptons, both so much more at ease then when they'd rushed up for their impromptu wedding and she felt like time was theirs again.

She watched his jaw work as he said something to her, the smile that graced his lips. The light in his eyes and the ease of his shoulders, the tension that had been in them drained away. The guilt wasn't behind those eyes anymore. He was light and carefree for the first time in weeks and she was lost in the image of him, the world outside their car whirling by but for all she cared it was just him. Her whole world came down to him.

He looked beside him, to his wife, when she didn't answer. She was looking at him but she didn't seem ready to answer, she was just staring at him.  
"Kate? What's wrong?" he asked, checking the rear-view mirror to try and catch a glimpse of himself. "Have I got something on my face? Don't tell me I nicked myself shaving again?"  
Kate smiled at him. "Just admiring my _husband_."

He reached across the space, took her hand and gave it a squeeze. He knew how she felt. It felt like a dream. He was worried he'd wake up any moment and realize this was an alternate universe. Again. How many times could that happen, anyway?  
He'd woken this morning and it had hit him. He was married. Finally married. To Katherine Beckett. His muse. Best friend. Love of his life. Now his spouse, his wife.

"I love you." she told him. It didn't really do justice to all that she felt. After all, he was the writer in this partnership, this _marriage_.  
She watched that smile, that beautiful, joyful smile spread even further as he pulled their linked hands to his lips and kissed her hand.  
"I love you too, Kate."

"There's a little cafe not far from here. We have time to stop off for a coffee. Keep you to myself a little longer before everyone shows up at the loft or you get called in?" He told as they neared the city.

Her grin was answer enough. He pulled over when he found parking, content to walk hand in hand with her a few blocks down and not even attempt to try to find parking closer in this part of New York. He held the door for her, parted with a kiss once they'd entered, Castle joining the queue and Kate finding them some seats, knowing for certain after all these years Castle could order well enough for her.

He returned to her a few moments later, sliding two steaming cups and a slice of chocolate cake in front of her before taking the seat next to her and reached out to hold her hand.

"Seeing as we didn't cut a cake or anything, how about we share this?"  
She raised an eyebrow at him, teasing and reached for her coffee. "Just as long as there are no attempts to shove it in my face."  
"Oh, I'm not that brave."  
He raised his mug to her. Leaning over to kiss him they clinked.  
"Best day ever," she whispered.  
"Best day ever."  
Castle took a fork and lifted a piece of cake to his wife's lips, stealing another chocolate flavored kiss after she'd taken the bite. She took the 2nd fork and fed cake to him, content to be lost in their newly wed bliss just a little while longer before the real world required their focus once again.

 _AN: Apparently its National Spouse Day and National Chocolate Cake Day so have something so sweet that my teeth hurt. Hope y'all are having a nice weekend._

 _Thank you for all the amazing reviews and comments and for reading. You are all amazing._


	29. National Sweater Day

**Post Series**

She stared at her phone menacingly. The taunting little readout in the corner. That one that told her it was cold like the Arctic outside. The one that said she'd immediately miss the warmth her husband was radiating from his chest against her back.

She groaned, rising to get Lily up for their breakfast together before she left for the precinct, her usual morning routine with her daughter.

As she dressed she weighed her options.  
She'd walk and take the subway, rather than a cab with the way the roads had been. Enough of her time was spent taking care of New York in this vortex, she didn't need to add to the chaos by risking the roads.  
The Precinct would be warm, so she just had to survive getting there. She'd keep her leggings on under her slacks and put on her snow jacket.

As she moved in to the living room, Castle appeared at her side with a travel mug of coffee in one hand and his sweater in the other. The blue knitted one she loved to steal for cold walks through the city. She pull it out of his side of the closet when they took Lily to see the snow in Central Park. Had smirked as she slid it on before going out to build snowman and race sleighs with Alexis, Lily bundled up in her own boats, sweater, coat, hat and mittens as she sat in her Mom's lap and giggled. It was warm and it smelt like him. She put that on and she felt safe and whole and content. And he never minded that she stole it, always just went back to his closet and grabbed a different sweater.

She slipped the sweater over her head, inhaling the traces of Castle's cologne and pulled her blazer and coat on over the top. He wrapped her scarf around her neck, using it to pull her close and kiss her. She lingered for a few moments longer, enjoying the warmth and taste of his lips before she said goodbye to her daughter, took the coffee from him with a final kiss and 'I think we'll stay here in the warmth today' tease as she walked to the elevator and braced herself for a cold January morning in New York city, hunkered down inside her jacket but feeling the chill a little less thanks to the coffee in her hand and the warmth of the sweater hugging her body just like her husband had that morning.

That thought carried her to the 12th.

 _AN: Its national sweater day. Here's a quick little drabble for ya. Its cold as heck in the US and I hope you're all staying safe and staying warm!_


	30. Missed You

**Missed You  
Season 8 Insert**

The bottle had long been finished and the night turned to goodbyes. Martha had donned her coat, hugged Alexis and grabbed Kate, enveloping her in her arms.  
"It really is good to have you home, kiddo."  
Kate leaned into the hug. She'd missed them. "Thank you Martha."  
With that, Martha grabbed her purse and swept out the door, a wave thrown over her shoulder and a 'good night girls' as she closed the door behind herself.

Kate started to clear up the wine glasses. "Have you got plans now?" she asked Alexis. She knew she'd been spending time with Hayley when she wasn't in class, working or with Castle.  
"No, I thought I'd hang out here tonight." Alexis grabbed her glass and the plates they'd used for snacks and followed Kate into the kitchen. She began loading the dishwasher, Alexis handing her the dishes she was holding. Kate closed the door, turning to Alexis to ask if she wanted to do something but before the words could leave her mouth her arms were suddenly full as Alexis hugged her.  
"I really am glad you're back Kate."

Guilt and gratitude overwhelmed her. She adored Alexis, never wanted to hurt her and she'd been left in the dark throughout this whole situation. They'd had a good relationship and she was worried this wasn't something she'd be able to repair.

Alexis stepped back and smiled at her. "I missed you."  
"Missed you too. All of you."  
"I... I understand if you're angry with me Alexis. I deserve that. I never wanted to hurt your Dad. Any of you. I wish... wish I could explain..."

"I was mostly just confused. I see the way you love my Dad. I never thought... I knew there had to be a reason... he seemed, less worried about you all of a sudden and I knew you were gonna be okay... I don't need to know the real story, just as long as you two are okay."  
Kate took her hands and squeezed them. "I'm sorry Alexis."  
"Whatever you think, whatever does or doesn't happen, we're family Kate," she fixed Kate with a look that was wiser than the years Alexis should have possessed.

Kate was relieved to hear that, to know Alexis still wanted her to be part of the family. Castle had assured her Alexis and Martha were the ones always reassuring him. That they never really bought the whole story. They were so relieved and welcoming when Castle had announced that things were going back to normal, they'd both taken her back. They should have never been in that position. She desperately wanted to explain what was going on but she just had to have faith that they, Castle and herself, could get this finished and keep their family safe.  
"You know I love your Dad, right? More than anything in the world." Kate suddenly felt the need to re-affirm her commitment.  
"Never questioned it. Just... just don't go away again, okay?"  
"You know I love you too? And Martha."  
Alexis smiled, nodded without hesitation. Kate didn't need anything more than that. That was how their relationship worked. Kate would always be there if Alexis needed her. She was back where she belonged.

Kate linked her arm through Alexis and led her back to the sofa. "How about a movie?" She was so happy Alexis was giving her the chance to keep working on their relationship, having moved from accepting Kate to a place where the girl enjoyed spending time with Kate and would even come to her for advice at times. They'd been building something, even if it was just a good friendship, Kate wanted Alexis to know she had someone besides Castle and Martha and she feared this LokSat situation had blown that all to hell.

At that moment Kate's phone rang and she saw it was Ryan.  
"I gotta take this," She looked apologetically at Alexis.

"No problem. I have to admit I even kind of missed that," Alexis smiled at her.

"Tell you what, this weekend let's do a movie night. Just the two of us," Kate suggested.

"You're on," Alexis agreed, strolling into the office to start Netflix while she waited for Kate to be done on her call.  
Kate watched her go, smiling. She loved this family she had with Castle and she was going to protect them with everything she had to give.

 _AN: I'll admit that I'm not a fan of season 8. I really love that Martha and Alexis were not in the least shocked or angry that Kate came back, they knew something bigger was going on eventually. I really loved the girls night scene and wished we'd seen Beckett and Alexis try to bond a little more. They got so much closer by the end of S6 and during S7. Sigh. 8 did screw up a lot of character development. Anyways... Hope you enjoyed my little look at a quick conversation between them._


	31. National Pizza Day

**Season One**

They were all frustrated. Leads were turning to dead ends on all fronts and they were back at square one. It wasn't unusual. They'd been through this before with cases and gotten their killer in the end. But that didn't help them right now.  
Espo and Ryan retreated back to their desk to look over phone records and emails again, double checking for patterns that they missed.

Castle watched Kate glaring at the board.  
"I know what we need right now." He pulled out his phone and started typing."Castle, I'm not in the mood for another one of your outlandish ideas." She grumbled at him.  
He ignored her and turned to the boys. "Ryan, Hawaiian? Espo, pineapple, olive, double jalapenos, right?" The boys were confused for a moment but then nodded at him.  
"Thanks bro."  
"Yeah, thanks."  
He typed that into his phone as he turned back to Beckett,  
"Castle..."  
"Yes, I know, pepperoni for you. I'll get a large and we can share."  
"Castle, that's not..."  
"Anyone want anything else while I'm at it?" he asked, completely ignoring her. He looked back to Ryan and Espo but they had their heads bent over their desks. "It's my treat so go nuts. Nope? Okay. Ordered. I'll go collect those and be back soon."  
"Castle!" Kate finally got his attention. "We don't have time for this. What we need is a new lead. There's something we're missing here." She told him, pointing to the board.  
"What we need is a break, refuel, refocus and we'll crack this." He told her.  
Kate rolled her eyes, signalling for him to leave and let her get back to work.

He returned a short while later with the pizzas and a few cans of soda, setting them all down on Beckett's desk and called the boys over. They grabbed slices, opened sodas and sat back and took in the folders in front of them, looked over the murder board and looked at everything from a different angle. They took a step back, took a moment to breathe. He enjoyed working with these people but he really loved the friendship he was building, the moments like this were they just got to hang out together for a moment.

Midway through his fourth slice, Castle launched into his latest CIA cover-up story and as the tension eased out of his friends sitting around him, the pieces started to connect with Beckett and she suddenly knew where they had to go then to find their next lead.

"That's the power of pizza," Castle announced as they started gathering jackets to head out. He grabbed a slice for the road, picking up the box and handing the two remaining slices to LT as they left the bullpen.

 _AN: Dang, I really want pizza now. Love the scenes of the team eating dinner and working a case together. Happy pizza day!_


	32. More Than Words Can Say

**Loved you yesterday**  
 **Love you still**  
 **Always have**  
 **Always will.**

 _Dear Rick,_

 _You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me. You changed my life in so many extraordinary ways, made the world colorful again._  
 _You are an amazing man and I will spend the rest of my life trying to show just how much you mean to me._  
 _I love you with all my heart._  
 _Always._

 _KBC x_

...

 _To my extraordinary wife,_

 _You inspire me every day. To be a better husband, a better father, a better man. To be better than I could have ever hoped to be. Every morning I wake up next to you and I wonder how I got so lucky. This life we've made means everything to me. Thank you._  
 _I love you with everything that I am._  
 _Always._

 _Rick x_

They looked at each other, grinning. That shared brain thing was at work again, evidenced by the fact they'd bought each other the same Valentine's card.

Castle grabbed her by the hips. Pulling her into him while she wrapped her arms around his neck, curled her fingers into his hair and lifted up to his lips as he dipped to claim hers. The kiss was tender, speaking of all the yearning, of the love that was stronger than ever.  
"Always," they promised each other as they broke apart.


	33. Scenes & Sweet Treats

**Scenes Sweet Treats**  
 **Season Four**

He wasn't sure what he'd been thinking. Sure, they were in a better place. A really good place right now actually. He could see light at the end of the tunnel for them. And honestly, tomorrow, Valentine's day of all days, there was no one else he would rather be with. He loved her. He was in deep.

He thought back to the previous year. Sitting in the Old Haunt over a couple of beers and how cut up he'd been when they'd parted ways outside, she'd gone back to her apartment with the possibility of seeing Josh and he'd gone back to his Loft and disappointments of the thoughts of the day.  
She was still working on that "wall". But their partnership was definitely heading into new territory. The friendship they'd forged was a barrier they'd moved past. This year, there was no Josh. No Gina. But he knew she wasn't ready. Not yet. And that was fine.

Still, out of impulse he'd bought her a card. He hadn't even really realized he'd done it until he was in the elevator to the loft and was looking at it gripped in his hand. He couldn't cross that line yet. He'd put it in the drawer to his desk.

He'd written her a letter instead, needed to get it out of his system. Poured his heart into words like the writer in him had done so many times before. Thoughts, feelings, promises. That too joined the card in the drawer.

Too overwhelmed, he turned his attention to his laptop. Flipping the lid, he booted up and opened a new document. He did what he did best. He delved into his world. Hid his feelings behind the alter egos that were a lot freer to express themselves then he and Beckett were at this point.

He wrote of Rook, sweeping his Detective off her feet. The romance he longed to show to Beckett after everything she'd been through in her life. He wanted to see her smile. Take her breath away a little. Show her how extraordinary she was.

He printed the small scene. Read through it. It had no place in Frozen Heat. But it had a place somewhere else. Checking the time, he knew she'd be home and hopefully asleep. He found a manilla envelope, slid the pages in. Scrawled on the front of it and grabbed his cell and keys, headed down to the sidewalk to hail a cab.

He made his way down the hall silently, his mission a quick one. He dropped the package on her doorstep, placed the rose he'd picked up with the card on top of it and left with the same silent steps.

Beckett rose with her alarm, running through her morning routine, grabbed her cell and bag and headed for the door. When she opened it, an envelope sat in front of her door with a rose atop it. Checking up the corridor to see if the delivery person was still around, she looked at the suspicious envelope carefully, recognizing the handwriting on it. She smiled, scooped it up and turned into the kitchen to find something to put the rose in.

Settling it on her counter, she turned to the envelope. _Detective Heat, love Rook._

She read the pages it contained carefully. A small Valentine's day date scene between Heat and Rook. It was sweet and lacked the usual hints of sexual tension Castle ultimately thrust into his two main characters. It was sweet and heartfelt and Kate felt her eyes misting. She wished she was at that place. The place where Castle didn't have to speak between the lines of a novel to her. She was getting there and hoped this was in their future. Dinner, dancing, wrapped in his arms as he told her all the things in the world that made her special in his eyes. How she could look back up into those eyes and say "I love you."

She placed the pages on the counter with her rose. Took a steadying breath and checked her watch. She wasn't at a place where she could say or do those things yet, she was trying to be more open to him and let him see glimpses beyond the wall. They had security footage and bank statements coming in this morning and he'd said he'd meet her at the precinct. She had just enough time to stop in the bakery down the street from the precinct.

When Castle joined her at desk, he placed her cup of coffee down next to her like he did every morning. She smiled, looking up at him to say thanks. They stared at each other, his eyes sparkling in that way that she found herself lost in. She felt herself wanting to say more. He found himself wanting to ask if she got the present. But the moment passed as he pointed to the papers in front of her and asked, "what we got?"

She blinked and it took her a minute to switch back to work. He lowered into his chair next to her, sipping his cup of coffee. She talked him through what she was doing and then reached into her bag by her feet, grabbing the bag of bear claws she'd bought and handed him one.

He was surprised by it and thanked her. She never did that sort of thing and hopefully he understood it for the message it was. Thank you. For now, it was the biggest gesture she could give him and they left everything else unsaid.


	34. The Other Love Of My Life

Jim Beckett had found a way to live with it but there were still days when he woke and the grief and loss would weigh heavier than others. He accepted that as part of his life. He looked at the photo of his wife beside his bed. Lifted a hand to his lips, pressed a kiss to his fingers tips and leaned out to stroke them against her face. "Happy Valentine's day, my love."

Slipping his feet into his slippers, he grabbed his robe and made his way into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. He moved through to the living room, setting his mug down and took out the last Valentine's card Johanna had given him and placed it on the mantle with her photo. He took out the new one he'd written for her last night and placed it beside it. He looked at his beautiful wife. Their wedding photo, the photo next to it of them with Kate when she was just a few weeks old.

Next to that lay photos of Kate with Lily, Jim with Lily and Kate and the most recent Castle/Beckett family photo. His heart ached today with the knowledge of how much different all their lives could be if those bastards hadn't gone after his wife. He looked at the wedding photo, took it from the shelf. "I miss you. I hope you're up there and you know how much I love you."

He placed the photo back and read the Valentine's card again, laughing. Unwittingly, their first Valentine's day together Jim had bought what he thought was a sweet, romantic card, even it was a little on the cringe worthy side. Johanna had read it and laughed, touched by the sentiment but had stated to a young and smitten Jim Beckett that he was cheesy and every year after that they'd gone out of their way to find each other the cheesiest Valentine's day card. This years card read **you octopi my thoughts** and had a picture of an Octopus blowing love hearts. He'd immediately grabbed it. "It's true though Johanna. You're never far from my thoughts."

He sat and drank his coffee, talking to her like he usually did, reliving memories of their early relationship, past Valentines, his plans for his half day at work and the case he was working on. It helped him feel close to her on days like this.

"Big plans tonight though," Jim perks up, a small chuckle escaping him. "Valentine's day with our precious little Lily Jo. Katie and Rick deserve a night to themselves and, well, besides you my love, Lily and Katie are the only other loves of my life." He sipped his coffee. "Oh, you'd love her Jo. She's feisty and independent, so clever and learns quickly. Keeps Kate and Rick on their toes. She reminds me of Katie so much. She's started asking about you, loves a good story, especially when I tell her about the things her Mom used to get up to. Katie tries that glare when she catches me." He chuckles. "But Katie, she'd move heaven and hell for that little girl. She's such a great mother. It's nice to see her happy."

...

Jim was in the kitchen getting dinner started when he heard the doorbell. His girls were here. He smiled. Opening the door to greet them, he was met by his daughter holding a grinning Lily up to push the doorbell.  
"Hi Dad." "Gwampa!"  
"There's my girls." Kate stepped through the door, placing a kiss on his cheek as her Dad wrapped an arm around them both.  
"Oh Lily Jo! Look at how pretty you are." She wore a sparkly red t-shirt covered in hearts with a little tutu and white leggings under the winter jacket Jim was taking her out of.  
"All dressed up for your dinner with Grandpa, aren't you Lil?" Kate led. Jim hung her little coat beside the door and carried his granddaughter through to the lounge, dropping a kiss to her cheeks.  
"Well, I am very honoured. Thank you keeping your old Grandpa company tonight."  
Kate followed, dropping Lily's overnight bag on the sofa and watched as Lily animatedly told her Grandpa something and he hugged her, making a show of listening to the wild tales the little Castle could spin. She noticed the rose on the mantle beside her Mom. Knew the strain but was happy to see Lily was already making him laugh and when he turned to look for his daughter she saw it in his eyes. He missed her but he was okay.  
"Lily, don't forget what's in the bag," Kate reminded.  
Lily gasped and turned to her Grandpa again. "Gwampa down pease. I gots ta get something."  
Kate chuckled, she was so independent at times. She watched Lily scamper to her bag and while she momentarily distracted by her search she took minute to curl into her Dad's side and wrap an arm around his waist.

"Love the card Dad. Mom would have hated it." She laughed. She'd always thought her parents sense of humour was weird as a teenager but now she loved that this silly tradition of theirs.  
"Oh yeah, I can hear groaning." He said wistfully.  
Kate hugged him tighter.  
"I'm okay, Katie. Today's tougher than most days. "  
"I know Dad."

They were interrupted by grunting and they turned to see Lily tugging things out of her bag. Kate intervened before Lily could completely empty everything out. She clutched her prize, listening to her Mom as she whispered to her and then walked back to Jim.  
She held the bear in her little arms up to him and he scooped her up again.  
"This is for me?" he asked.  
"For you Gwampa."  
He took the bear, read the word "love" on the heart it was holding and held it against his own heart, smiling at her.  
"Oh thank you, Lily. I shall have to put him on my desk, won't I?"  
"Mommy helped," Lily told him as she wrapped an arm around him and rested her head against him for a cuddle.  
He turned to his daughter who was smiling at them together. "Thank you. Both of you. You spoil me."

"You sure you're okay Dad? We can cancel our reservations and have a family dinner instead?"  
"No, you and Rick have a lovely evening to yourselves. I've got plans. I've made Lily's favourite for dinner and I have a surprise in the fridge for after. And I have a new book for us to read before bed."  
"Suwpwise?"  
He whispered in her ear and laughed as she squealed.  
"Yay! Cake!"  
Kate laughed. "Uh oh."  
Jim insisted she go out with her husband. He'd been looking forward to having Lily.  
"Now, I've got a dinner date and you need to go get ready for yours."

Kate smiled at him and held her arms out to take Lily.  
"You be good for your Grandpa and enjoy your date.  
"I 'ways good for Gwampa. Wuv my Gwampa."  
"That's okay, then. Love you my little flower."  
Lily looked up and pucked her lips for a kiss.  
"Wuv you too Mommy. To da moon and back."  
"To the moon and back Lil. Daddy will call at bedtime and we'll see you tomorrow."

Kate said her goodbyes and went to pick Rick up from his meeting at Black Pawn so they could head out for dinner.

...

Jim had dinner with Lily. She made him laugh with all the stories she had to tell about playing in the snow with her Dad this week, how mad Mommy had been when he'd put snow down her back and Jim told her stories about her Mom and Grandma. She got chocolate cake all over her and he had to give her a bath, they cuddled together in the bed in the room that had been his office which he'd converted into a bedroom for his granddaughter and when she'd said goodnight to Kate and Rick before they'd headed out for dinner, he tucked her in bed and sat with her until she was out for the night.

He read a little before bed himself. He checked on Lily on his way to his own bed, quickly pressing a kiss to her head and remembering when Kate had been that small. He got ready for bed, climbed in and turned to the photo of Johanna again.

"Happy Valentine's day. I love you. Good night my love."

 _AN: I love Jim Beckett. We needed more of him. I knew he'd volunteer to have Lily so Caskett could have a date night and let Alexis and Martha go out if they had plans. My Nan puts out the last card my Grandad gave her before he passed away and I thought that it was something that Jim might do._

 _As for the "bad" cards, I love getting my wife cheesy cards that make her groan. Always imagined that Johanna and Jim had very playful sides to them when it was just the two of them._


	35. Serenade

It was gridlock. In the last fifteen minutes they'd barely moved a yard.

Castle looked at his fiancee frowning next to him.  
"Hey, stop beating yourself up."  
Kate turned to look at him, half heartedly smiling for him.

"I'm sorry babe. You went to all this trouble to get us reservations and I had to go and mess the night up."

"We got our killer and I got to watch you take him down. That's actually better then what I had planned," he teased.

"You got all dressed up for me."  
"I'm always this ruggedly handsome Beckett. It's just my cross to bear."

Kate rolled her eyes.

"Honestly Kate, as long as I'm with you, the nights perfect. Even if we have to sit in traffic all night. You're all I need."

She gave him a genuine smile then. She reached over, pulling grabbing his hand and pulling her to him for a kiss.

"I love you."

"I know," he joked.

Traffic inched forward a little and he heard the sigh escape her again.

He grabbed his phone, making sure it was connected to the cars sound system and found the playlist he'd built for them. He hit play and watched as the smile spread across her face again. She loved this song and he settled into his seat and started to sing to her.

When she joined in, they looked at each other and the rest of the world fell away.


	36. Officer & A Bear

Reece woke them both after a nightmare and would only go back to sleep if he could sleep with his parents. They'd heard his whimpers as he'd descended the stairs, both rushing out to him to avoid another tumble. This was the third night in a row their little guy had nightmares and all three of them were losing sleep because of it. It was a miracle Jake was sleeping through it when the two shared a room.

Safe in his Daddy's arms, Reece slept the rest of the night undisturbed. Beckett watched them both sleep a little while, her littlest guy looking so small and innocent in the warmth of his Daddy's big arms. The boys looked so much like Castle.

She wished she knew how to save him from these nightmares. They couldn't work out what was triggering them in him, seeing as he spent every day with his brother and his Dad and so far Jake seemed to be okay. She played with a strand of his hair, flicking out the same way his Dad was. She pressed a kiss to the hand that she'd kept a hold of all night and rolled out of bed, leaving him with his Daddy before she prepared to face the day ahead. Coffee first.

When Reece joined his brother and sister at the table for breakfast, he was the same cheery boy he usually was, happy to follow his Dad round like his little shadow and when Kate said bye to them he didn't cling, just simply said 'bye Mommy, catch all the bads mans' and chased Jake into the playroom.

At the precinct, Kate found a few moments to mention the problem to Ryan, more out of parent solidarity than anything else. She remembered a lot of days when Ryan had been dead on his feet. Sarah-Grace had a period when she hit three when she started having nightmares and they'd found that giving her a 'protector', in SG's case one of her stuffed dolls, to sleep with had helped ease them and she started to sleep better.

Kate suggested it to Castle.

As they got the boys ready for bed that night, Castle and Beckett put their plan into motion. They sent Jake off with Lily to choose books for their storytime and pulled Reece aside to talk to him.

Kate sat down on his bed, pulling him into her lap while Castle sat on the bed beside them.  
"Am I in twouble?" Reece looked at them.  
"No buddy, no, Mommy and I are just worried cause you've been having bad dreams lately and we want to try to help." Castle reassured him.  
"Otay," Reece leaned into his mother, resting his head against her chest.  
"We thought about it a lot and we decided you need a partner," Castle told him, like he was building up to a grand story.  
"Dike you and Mama?"  
Castle nodded as Reece looked up at his Mom.  
"When scary things happen, who has my back?"  
"Daddy."  
"That's right, Daddy does. I have his. Because we're partners," Kate started to explain.  
"Now, we know you and Sergeant Jakey are partners," Castle said and Kate smirked at the nickname the 12th had bestowed on her kids. "But you get to have a team. Like Mommy has all those officers that are her team. So, Sergeant Reece, you've got a new team member," Castle pulled the bear he'd hidden under the bed before bringing the boy in.  
"Dat my bear!" Reece told them, clearly his little mind not keeping up wi.  
It was the NYPD bear Esposito had bought for him when he was born. Both the twins had them.  
"Yes, it is. And as Captain, I've made him an officer. And his first order is to watch over my best Sergeant and stop him having bad dreams."  
Reece looked up at her in wonder.  
"Weally?"  
"Really. If you need me or you need Daddy we'll always gonna come get you, but Officer Bear here is our backup. You cuddle him tonight and he'll stop bad dreams."  
Castle smiled up at his wife as Reece took the bear and hugged him.  
"Now, do you wanna go choose your book and we'll get story time started?" Castle asked.  
Reece shot off his mother's lap and took his bear with him as he fled the room.  
"Reece Alexander Castle, do not run down the stairs!" Kate called after him. They heard his running halt and then the slap of feet as he took the stairs more carefully.

Castle pulled her to her feet and they headed down to the kids to see what had picked from their shelf of books downstairs.  
"You realize you're going to have to promote Jake's bear too,"castle laughed but Kate just shrugged.  
"After the amount of Barbie dolls I had to make Detectives, I'm surprised we don't have a full squad under this roof already."  
"Remember when you were worried we'd be normal and boring."  
"Any kids I had with you were never going to be normal Castle."  
"Alexis turned out just fine," he joked.  
"Yes, and I'm thankful everyday that there's one other adult in this family," she teased right back as they reached the bottom of the stairs.  
"Hey, I resemble that remark."

That night the Castle loft remained quiet and when Kate went to get the kids the next morning, Reece was still tucked in with his bear.

 _AN When I was little I had a lot of nightmares and I remember my Mum giving me a bear and telling me as long as I slept with it at night I wouldn't have bad dreams. It worked for a really long time. Still does on occasion._


	37. You Coming?

He watched her walk away. The same way he'd done so many times before. Watched the sway of hips, the stride of the legs he worshiped, the way she owned whatever space she occupied, like the world was at her command. She'd always made it look easy. That grace, that determination. Flawless, effortless. When she walked, heads turned and she knew it. Knew how to work him.

She took his breath away. Always had done. He watched as the wind blew her hair gently, how she turned her face up to the sun. The smile, at peace and content. Relaxed. He took her all in. Wanted to write about the vision of her but failing to find the words to do her justice. This woman was the love of his life and he still found himself wondering just how he'd managed to find her.

She turned, realizing he wasn't at her side and threw him a questioning look. "You comin' Castle?"

"Come on Daddy," Lily yelled from further up the beach where she was jumping waves already with Alexis and Reece. Alexis held a squealing Reece's hand as they ran in and out of the waves, the little boy laughing every time a wave came towards them.

Kate bent down to Jake at her side, whispered something to her little boy and then let his hand go. He saw her grin as they watched the tentative steps Jake made as he toddled back to his Dad, not so sure footed on the dry sand that moved below his footsteps and threw himself at his legs.

"Dada, come." He hauled Jake up, swung him onto his shoulders and smiled at his wife as she watched them, holding her hand out to him to beckon him down to the water with the rest of the family.  
"Lead the way buddy, lets go splash Mommy."


	38. National Wine Day

**Season 5**

His meeting had not gone fast enough for his liking. He had Kate all to himself while she was on suspension, while Alexis and his mother were traveling, and their serenity had been interrupted by Paula and Gina's repeated calls. He'd forgotten he had a meeting coming up with them to discuss the book tour for the new Heat and Storm books.

Kate had said she'd go back to her own place while he was busy but he didn't want to be apart from her now they were finally together. He knew it was silly but he'd planned to cook her dinner.

"Tell you what, I'm gonna go home and do some laundry and check my post, maybe call my Dad and let him know I'm okay," Beckett tried to soothe his pouting. "Come to mine when you're done and we'll pick up where we left off this morning." She promised, hand stroking up his arms, squeezing a little. She'd been doing that a lot lately, joking that it was a shame he'd hidden them from her under those shirts and jackets this whole time.

For the first time Castle wasn't so excited about the press he was going away to do. He couldn't help but think back to the Summer he'd spent in the Hamptons, away from his muse, and how different she'd been when he came back. Granted, they weren't a couple then but he didn't want to give her a chance to wonder, to reconsider, to evaluate. Maybe she'd want to come with him. A little vacation for the two of them.

He walked into her apartment, she'd left the door open for him after he'd sent her a text to say he was on his way and it made his heart sore. How different things were. He remembered knocking in the past and the worry that she'd send him away, that she'd rather spend time with her boyfriend then hearing his theories or accepting his company. Now _he_ was the boyfriend. It was no secret that she wanted to spend time with him, that they loved being in each other's company. She'd leave the door for him, wait for him. He entered her kitchen with a smile when he saw her sitting at the counter with a glass of wine and a book waiting for him.

"Hey."  
"What? No, 'honey I'm home'?"  
He laughed, surprised at the tease.  
Wrapping his arms around her, he leant down to kiss her. He'd missed her today.  
"Never gonna stop making fun of me for that are you?"  
"That you wrote about nights spent together in my apartment? Nope."  
She poured him a glass of wine and passed it to him.  
"Don't worry. I actually think it's sweet."  
"So much better in reality though," he acknowledged as he slid in the seat next to her. Everything about them was so much better in reality. This whole new side of her was incredible and he really relished the chance to experience a relationship with her.  
"I just get kidnapped a lot less than Nikki seems to," she teased again.  
He laughed.  
"So, you really are my biggest fan. You can admit it, Beckett. You're CastleFreak1212 right? I won't tell anyone."  
She just rolled her eyes at him. He loved this. Their teasing had taken on a new level. She would thank him for the dedication in his books, for his kind words. She'd tried in the past to tell him she wasn't worthy of such praise and that she wasn't anything like Nikki but he'd seen his books lining her shelf. She called it being a supportive friend or professional curiosity but despite her claims to the contrary, knew she'd read them and knew she enjoyed them. Hell she would throw out one liners from the pages. And that one time she had flipped him the bird in gest the way Nikki would. It made going into this relationship with her so much sweeter because now he didn't have to hold back, didn't have to hide behind the pages of a book and hope she'd figure this all out. Nikki and Rook had been a love letter to her he was writing before he truly knew what he wanted, now he knew what they could be and it was more than anything he could have written for the whole world to see. They were so much more.

"How was your day?"  
"Better now," He replied honestly, taking a sip from his glass. The smile she gave him then, he would never get tired of. Unrestrained and light. He'd done that.  
He'd talk to her about the book tour after dinner, but right now he was happy to be with her.  
"I believe you were was promised dinner by your favourite writer," Castle reached out to take her hand, a little thrill running through him that he could do it without restraint now. He could hold her hand. He could hold her.  
"Patterson is coming over?"  
Castle playfully glared at her, tugging her hand a little and pulling her towards him for a kiss.  
"Patterson wishes."  
She smirked. She grabbed her glass, drinking from it and sending him a flirtatious glance as he watched the way she licked her lips after..  
"After you've made dinner, maybe I'll let you break out the tequila and limes," she teased.  
Castle gulped, jumped up to raid her fridge and she laughed at his eagerness, setting down her glass and moving to his side to help.

 _AN: Happy National Wine Day... I love the idea of Beckett teasing Castle about all the relationship stuff he wrote between Nikki and Rook in the first few books before they got together._


	39. Library Lovers

_AN: Thank you to everyone who's been reading and leaving reviews. Just wanted to address something before diving into this oneshot._

 _This is a Lily story. I acknowledge that there will be three Caskett kids but sometimes my inspiration is in the here and now. This is a here and now story. I'm sorry people aren't enjoying these. Its a Lily story because I quite often write a story based on a national holiday or event that just happened and I want to picture how they would be celebrating or dealing with it at the present moment. I have quite a few stories to finish for the twins but they haven't been born yet so sometimes they don't feature as much._

 _If you want to skip this then please do._

 _Thank you as always for your support._

 _xxx_

 **Library Lovers**

After breakfast he'd hustled them out the door for a family outing. Wrapping themselves in coats, scarfs and hats when Lily had stubbornly refused to wear hers unless Kate and Castle did too, they'd made their way through cold streets, showing Lily the snow as they headed for the Subway.

Kate let he lead, knew he had something in mind. When they were walking up the steps of the New York Public Library half an hour later she had to smile. He loved taking Lily to the library and after all the meetings he'd been in this week to discuss his book release and all the press associated with it, knew he was trying to spend a little extra time with his girls before work took him away from them. Lily had chatted all the way with both her parents, always taking in the world around her but when her Dad held his fingers to his lips as they entered, Kate had to smile.

He waved to the librarian on the desk as Lily led them both towards the kids section. Kate started to take her coat and scarf of, managing to snag the beanbag chairs while Lily and Castle peruse the shelves for their first read.

They found a few books and Castle carried them over, Lily running into her mother's lap. Kate took her out of her coat and pulled her into her lap and they both got comfy and waited for storytime to start once Castle was out of his layers and comfy next to them. She loved this. She'd had the experience of Castle reading to her since early in their relationship. Loved the way his voice warmed with the written word, how his tone soothed the ragged edges in her and opened up entire new worlds to his family to explore and get lost in.

She didn't always get to go to the library with them. Of course, she knew the significance this place held for her husband and it was a connection he'd strived to share with and carefully stoke in his children but she was usually at the precinct when he came here with Lily and Alexis. But on a cold, rainy day in New York city, this was a perfect spot for the Castle family to spend some time together.

Lily curled into her side, watching the pages turn and following the illustrations as joining in the story when prompted. Kate watched them together, the yearning in her heart growing stronger. Castle was meant to be a father. They made it through another book when Kate excused herself to go to the toilet, telling them to carry on as Lily crawled into her Dad's lap.

She walked the shelves, looking at the spines as she went and thought that maybe while Castle was on his book tour she'd try to spend an afternoon here with Lily, make a day of it when she starts missing her Daddy, maybe meet Alexis after for something to eat. Of course she had her own special rituals with her daughter but this place held a special place for the Castles and she enjoyed being apart of that.

She wasn't gone all that long but when she returned Castle had an audience. A few other children had moved away from their parents and where sitting in front of him and Castle was eating it up. Lily sit sat with him but now he was reading to all of them.

"This happens a lot," a voice said next to her. The librarian from the desk had joined her to watch. "He's a big hit with the kids when the two of them visit. Always makes time for a story or two for the little ones."

Kate turned to her husband. She knew that he came with Lily often, always stopped in at the precinct for lunch after a library trip, but he'd kept that detail quiet. He just told her how Lily had lit up hearing this story or that story. It shouldn't surprise her that he had time for her and the friends she made out and about. He was great with kids. Always had been. And she longed for the day that those kids were theirs.

Not for the first time an image flashed through her mind. Castle, Lily and her little brother or sister, hooked on their Dad's every word, every movement, watching him spin tales. They were trying for that, she was so hopeful that they were gonna get to do this all over again. She couldn't stop thinking it. Hoping for it. Dreaming of a little boy or a little girl with their father's messy hair and big blue eyes.

Castle reached the end of the book and looked up to lock eyes with her. He grinned and pointed her out to Lily.

"Mommy! It's your turn," she shouted.

The librarian next to her laughed. "Looks like you're being summoned. Tell Miss Lily and Mr Castle we'll be getting some new books in a couple of weeks if they want to come by for storytime again."

"Thank you. I will."

Kate rejoined her family, dropping into the seat next to them and laughed as Lily thrust a book into her hands and curled back against her father. The rest of the kids didn't seem to want to move either so she guessed she would be reading to the room.

Diving in, she couldn't help but picture again doing this at home with their kids surrounding them under a blanket on the sofa, each picking their favourites to read and her and Castle taking turns to entertain them. She looked up at him as he lay his hand on her thigh, squeezing.

He was thinking the same thing.

 _AN2: February was Library Lovers Month._


	40. World Book Day

**Post Series**

Lily tucked in for the night after a story and a little Mommy time, Kate descended the stairs to look for her husband.

He met her at the bottom of the stairs and she fell into his arms with a sigh. "Munchkin down?"

Kate lent into his warmth, arms wrapping around his waist. "Yeah, she was fighting it but she's out for good now. Hopefully at least. I want some time with you. Feel like I've hardly seen you lately."

They held each other for a few moments, enjoying the quiet of their usually chaotic home.

"Ran you a bath," he told her. Kate moaned into his chest where her face was currently pressed.

"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" she muffled.

Castle chuckled. "Yes, when I handed you your second cup of coffee this morning." He teased.

"Climb in and relax a little. I'm gonna tidy up from dinner and I'll come join you." He turned her and pushed her towards the bedroom.

"Leave the kitchen. You're as tired as I am. Get us some wine and come get in the bath now."

Castle was going to argue, not wanting to tip his hand just yet.

He followed, taking the hand that she held out as she pulled him through their room behind her.

When she entered the bathroom he'd dimmed the lights and placed a few candles around the room for her. But next to the tub sat a glass of wine and a gift box. She reached for it about to ask him what it was when she saw "Nikki, love Rook." written across the top.

She spun to him, a grin on her face as she held the box in her hands. "Is this?"

He grinned. "Yes, that's your copy. I've had it a few days but we haven't had a minute to ourselves. I was going to let you soak and read for a little while."

She opened the box, smiled at the cover, traced the letters of her husband's name with reverence. He watched as she bit her lip, watched the proud wife, the inner fangirl and the book lover in her all come to life as she took the book from the gift box and held it up, her gaze flicking to him with a smile that told him so much than she could ever express.

"Thank you," she told him, moving to him to kiss. "Best husband ever." She pulled him down for a more searing kiss before she broke away, heads resting together. "I'm so proud of you. Now, I'm going to start my new book and you are going to join me. I'll even share my wine"

He smiled at her, took the book from her hands and placed it on the side and they helped each other undress, mouths and hands wandering in their quest for some time to themselves.

She sipped, let herself relax a little more into his arms. They were sated and lay together in the warm water, Kate starting the latest adventure in the lives of their alter egos, Castle content to hold his wife and watch her enjoy his latest love letter to her. _Crashing Heat._

 _AN: Happy World Book day and just a few more days until Crashing Heat is out. Very excited. Heat Rises and Frozen Heat are still my favourites of the series so we'll see how the new one compares!_


	41. Always

_AN: Happy #10YearsOfCastle. Just a quick drabble I put together. I'm really sick and wish I could have written something a little better. I will add a second part to this when I'm up to it but couldn't let today pass without marking it._

Castle strolled into the kitchen to join his girls. Kate sat at the island with Lily, two heads bent together as Kate cut up the pancakes she'd made for breakfast. Castle slid into the seat next to his daughter, smiled at Kate as she slid his coffee over to him and started his pancakes./p  
He watched her for a few minutes.

"Happy anniversary Kate."  
Kate looked at him confused.  
"Hey Lil, do you why today is a special day?" Lily looked at her with the same look of confusion as her mother. He smiled at his girls.  
"Ten years ago…"  
"The Derreck Storm party," Kate smiled, realising what the date was. "We met 10 years ago today."  
"Yes we did. And my life is so much better for it." Castle told her.

Kate stood from her seat and wrapped her arms around it.  
"I had no idea we'd end up here. Thanks for an amazing ten years together."  
He claimed her lips and they shared a moment of celebration together before she broke away, returning to her breakfast.

"Mommy came to my party and asked for my help. She's been in love with me ever since." Castle whispered to Lily.  
Kate laughed, taking a sip of coffee to clear the pancake from her throat she'd almost choked on.  
"Oh no. You're not telling Lily that!" Kate complained. "Don't listen to Daddy. Daddy annoyed Mommy from the start and he still does."  
Castle laughed. "I knew Mommy was someone special. Someone worth annoying. Then I fell in love with her. I knew I had to follow her."  
Castle and Kate shared a loving gaze, he reached out to hold her hand.  
Lily watched her parents for a minute. "Wuv my Mommy too."  
Kate kissed her daughters head, so very grateful for the years, the turn their story had taken.

Castle smirked. "Mommy was so mad about it though."  
Lily frowned, turning to her mother. "But Mommy wuvs Daddy."  
"I do, Lil." Kate reassured. "But when we first met Daddy and I didn't really know each other. But eventually I realised how clever he was, how caring he was. He became a friend and a partner."

"So, do you know what I did Lil?"  
"What Daddy?"  
"I started following Mommy on her cases. We started catching bad guys together and we became partners. And then she fell madly in love with me."  
Kate laughed. "That much is true. Daddy is the best partner I ever had Lily."

Lily loved stories of her parents crime fighting, she thought the two of them were amazing heroes and now she was riveted to his tale.  
"So many bad mans Daddy?"  
"So many." Castle assured her. "Really, Mommy would have been lost without me."  
Kate rolled her eyes.

"And then?"  
"We found each other and Mommy became my girlfriend and we continued to save New York city together. We had a lot of ups and downs along the way but we made it. Now we're married and we have you."  
"And you're the best thing that ever happened to us, Lilypad." Kate told her daughter.

Ten years of ups and downs, fights, near death experiences but so much love, so much joy, so much laughter and the greatest thing that ever happened to them; finding each other.

"Hey, Castle."  
"Yeah?"  
"Thank you for being my always."  
"Thank you for falling in love with me."


	42. National Napping Day

**National Napping Day**

It was very rare she could justify going home early but Captain Beckett had headed into the precinct early and it had been a long day. Still, she was heading home to finally get something to eat, to see her husband and daughter. She waved bye to Ryan and Esposito as they finished off looking over the paperwork they were handling for a case the 12th had finally broken.

She entered a quiet loft. She heard the TV in the office but no one called out to her or came to greet her when she got through the door. She dropped her bag, hung her coat and headed in that direction. The TV was on the news, but Castle wasn't in there. She turned the TV off and as she turned to leave she saw him lying on their bed. She walked into the room, smiling at the sight before her.

It was a sight she'd seen before, one she'd never get tired of. Castle lay on his back, snoring a little lightly and Lily was curled into his side on Kate's side of the bed, her head tucked under his chin and her beloved purple elephant held tightly in her arms. They looked so peaceful and she was so happy she'd gotten home in time to see this.

There was a little room left for her. She could slip in beside Lily, there'd be enough room to put her arm around both of them. But she hadn't eaten anything. She could make a start on dinner and surprise him when they woke from their nap.

It didn't even really take any convincing. She quickly pulled her shoes off, took the sweater off she was still wearing and eased herself into bed and wrapped her arm over her daughter and rested her palm against Castle's stomach.

"Mmm, Kate, hi." Castle murmured.

"Go back to sleep," Kate whispered, rubbing her palm along his sternum.

"'Kay."

Kate wasn't really tired but she was content to just relax and enjoy the warmth under the covers. She lifted her hand from her husband, played with strands of Lily's hair. It was getting long. But she would not let anyone cut it, wanted it to be like Mommy and Alexis with their long hair. She watched as her little hand clenched and unclenched around her elephant and she puffed out a breath. She wondered what she was dreaming about. Looked over the curve of her ear, the swell of her cheek. The way she held her Daddy. The two of them together made her heart do funny things. He always looked so innocent and young when he slept. Like all the trouble he could get into, especially with a two year old shadow, was not at all possible. She'd love to reach over and kiss him right now but doing so might wake their daughter and a Lily woken early from her nap is a force to be reckoned with.

She closed her eyes and gave into the pull of her family. And then, again, the image of a little baby with their fathers messy hair and blue eyes came into her head.

She woke a little over twenty minutes later to the sounds of a little girl waking up. She felt Lily stretch in her arms, felt the gentle thud of the elephant against her as Lily realized where she was and who she was with. Castle chuckled.

"Hey little thunder cloud. Be careful with Mommy." She heard her husband say and felt him lift Lily into his arms.

She cracked her eyes. He was sitting up in bed and Lily nestled against him.

"Hey," she said. Castle smiled at her as Lily turned and held her arms out to her.  
Kate sat up and took her, as her daughter wrapped her arms around her neck and lay her head on Kate's shoulder.

"Hey. Glad you're home. Boys close the case?"

"Big time." Kate was still kissing Lily as she sat up, pulling her feet up to sit her daughter in her lap and lay her back against her legs. She smoothed out her wild hair and turned to kiss her husband.

"What time did you get home?" Castle asked. "I didn't mean to fall asleep with her."

Kate smirked, her gaze turning to him with knowing look. "You say that every time I find the two of you conked out somewhere."

"You're guilty of it too."

"I can't wait until this nap pile is bigger," Kate murmured, then sighed. Castle heard it though.

"Honey, it's going to happen. We haven't been trying for long and we've both been busy with work. But it is going to happen. Remember, we're meant to have three kids after all."

Kate rolled her eyes.  
"Well, when she's in bed time tonight, count on a lot of… _napping_ , Mr Castle." She grinned at him saucily.  
"Naps are good." Castle wriggled his eyebrows at her and claimed her lips.

Lily flopped forward on to her, now actually awake and wanting her Mom's attention. "What you do with Daddy today, little flower? I missed you."

 _AN: We all know exactly how Caskett celebrate National Napping Day._


	43. Let The Music Play

**Let The Music Play  
** **Post Series**

Jake banged his hand against the keys of the piano that he could only just reach, cheering as it made noise. He bounced and danced with every note he struck.

"Jakey! Come away," Kate called from the kitchen where she was making lunch with Castle and Alexis. She washed her hands, reaching for the towel to dry. She noticed Reece abandoning the action figures he'd been playing on the rug with when he saw Jake having fun and headed his brothers way. "Nah uh, Reece, you're not joining in."

"I've got them Katherine." Martha had been sitting at the table with Lily as she the two colored together but she interceded on her daughter-in-laws behalf before the twins could truly rain chaos.

"Gam! Gam! Gam!" Jake cheered as she swooped him up and Reece changed his course and ran into her legs.

"What's all this noise about, kiddo? You're just like your father. Always got to touch things." Martha told him, as Jake grinned at her, reaching for the necklace around her neck. She grabbed his hand, nibbling on it to make him giggle. "Yes, you do."  
"Hey!" Castle called out from the kitchen.  
Kate laughed. "Your Mom's right, babe."

Martha stood Jake back on the floor with Reece and bent down to give him a kiss too. "Don't let your brother get you into trouble." Reece grinned at her and babbled, Martha nodding along to whatever he was saying.

Jake took her hand and pulled her back to the piano and pointed at it, looking up at her.

"Yes, darling, that makes a lot of noise but it's not a toy for you to play with."

"Gam!"

"I think he wants you to play Gram," Alexis shouted from the kitchen.

"Yeah Gram, can you play for us?" Lily cheered as she turned in her seat.

"Gam! Gam! Gam!" Jake and Reece started cheering.

"Is that what you want?" She asked looking at the boys who were waiting at her feet. "Well, who am I to turn down a command performance?" Martha turned to wink at Kate. "Is that okay with you Richard, Katherine?"

"Go ahead, they may riot," Kate joked. They continued working with Alexis but the two of them watched the scene in the living room. Lily abandoned her coloring and ran to sit on the sofa as Martha slid onto the bench. She played a few lullabies and the boys stood on either side of her in awe. Kate stopped what she was doing to film her babies with their beloved grandmother.

After lunch the kids managed to beg Martha to play again, a few more upbeat numbers that had the boys bopping up and down with Kate and Rick and Lily dancing around the room with Alexis. They dissolved into laughter when Martha came to a vivacious closure and the boys rushed to hug and kiss her, joined a second later by Lily and Alexis.

"Oh, these are the reviews I live for. I'm glad I could entertain you my darlings."  
"Yay Gam!" "Gram that was awesome!" "Haven't lost your touch Gram"

Castle watched as his mother came to life, the audience she cared about the most in her arms at that very moment. He snapped a photo of her in her element.


	44. Shake It Off

**Shake It Off  
Post Series**

He watched as the cursor blinked. His foe. An old nemesis. They'd done this battle, held this stand off before. And it wasn't that he didn't have any ideas, that he didn't have the words to say. His heart and head were in the other room.

He knew he had a deadline and he'd spent a great amount of the morning watching the words scroll across the screen. He'd written pages and pages already. He'd lost himself in his world and time had flown by but now the sounds of laughter and glee had broken through the fictional world he'd fallen into and he couldn't find it in himself to dive back down the rabbit hole while he was missing out on the fun.

Lily followed her big sister Alexis like a shadow. Had done since she'd started crawling. Alexis had embraced her role as big sister with the same gusto she attacked every aspect of life and so she tried to be there for Lily as much as she could. The two had their secrets, the things that they only did together and sister days were a sacred day for Alexis. Their morning had started with breakfast with Castle and then he'd gone into his office to write. Alexis had stuck her head in to say she thought it was too cold to take Lily out so they'd be playing upstairs in her room.

His girls had bought him lunch and he'd been grateful for the break. But now he wanted to crash sister day and have a Daddy-Daughters afternoon.

He hit save and closed his laptop. Stopping in the door of his office, he watched as Alexis sat with Lily in her lap as the two read together. Alexis sounded out the words and she laughed as Lily would find the pictures and make the noises the animals in her books made.

He chuckled and then he had two sets of eyes on him.

"You're meant to be writing," Alexis said.

"I've been writing all morning, it sounds more fun out here," Castle whined.

Alexis shook her head, no stranger to her father's procrastination tactics.

"Come on. I need a break and I'm missing out time with my kids."

"How much have you got left?" Alexis asked, knowing he couldn't be far from being done.

"A chapter. At most." Castle insisted. "I can take a break."

"Daddy, you gots to wite! Mommy said!" Lily told him seriously.

"We have one more secret sister thing to do, right Lily?" Alexis and Lily looked at each other and Lily nodded. "Then… if you finish your last chapter you can play with us."

"You know, I hate it when you're reasonable and level headed. Takes all the fun out of play hooky," Castle sulked. "Okay, you two have all the fun." Castle smiled. He kissed Alexis on the forehead. "Love you, pumpkin."

"Someone has to make sure you're an adult sometimes," Alexis shouted after him as he walked back into his office.

When Kate got home, she could hear music coming down the hall as she stepped off the elevator. The poor neighbours.

She opened the door, not surprised that no one had heard enter, and watched the scene before her. Alexis was bent over laughing as Castle and Lily stood with their backs to her shaking their butts. Well, Castle was shaking his butt and Lily was attempting to copy him. Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" filled the loft and the three of them were lost in the song. Lily had dragged out her costume box, she could tell. Alexis and Lily wore feather boas, a gift from Martha for their tea party dressing, and Castle wore a crown and butterfly wings as he danced with his girls. He was singing wholeheartedly, his girls dancing around him and Kate managed to grab her phone in time to catch the scene without them noticing her.

When the song ended she scared them all by clapping. Castle spun to her and smiled as Lily realised she was home and ran to hug her.

"Productive day?"

"Yeah," Castle came to give her a kiss as she lifted Lily into her arms.

"Having fun with Alexis and Daddy?"

"We watch Tay Tay and dance. Dance too Mommy!"  
Alexis joined her with a spare feather boa and draped it around Kate's neck after giving her a hug as she was dragged into her family's mayhem before she'd even had a chance to protest.

"I finished the book, we're celebrating." Castle told her as he whisked her into his arms.

"You did? I'm so proud of you," Kate told him. Castle hit play and the room filled with music again as another song started. Castle spun his wife round the room and listened to the sounds of his girls laughing. Kate grinned at the sight of her husband waltzing in butterfly wings.

 _AN: I started this one a month or so ago after my wife made me sat through the Taylor Swift Netflix concert. I know Alexis is a fan and I had a lovely image of her watching it with Lily and the two of them dancing._


	45. Crashing Heat Release Day

Release day had become a sacred day in their household. Usually Castle spent it at the precinct with her but they'd just had an a tough case close and she'd opted to take the day off instead, as Captain she could do that a little more easily than in the past, and she wanted to spend it with him away from the stress of his publishers. She had a little time before she had to meet him after his morning interviews.

Lily was a newborn when Heat Storm had been released so Kate was excited to take her out on a mission that morning. They'd sat in their pyjamas and eaten breakfast in front of the TV, something the two of them never did, but they'd watched the first couple of interviews Castle had done that morning and Lily had freaked out, jumping up and down and shouting "dat my Daddy!". Kate had filmed her reactions on her phone and posted them to the family whatsapp that was quickly filling with all sorts of encouragements from Alexis, Martha and Jim. Castle took a minute to "say hi to his girls, Kate, Lil, Alexis." and blew them kisses through the screen which Lily returned in kind.

The mission this morning though was to the bookstore a couple of blocks from their loft. Castle had a few magazine and newspaper interviews and then they'd be meeting for lunch with Alexis and distracting the writer from his release day worries as they did every year. It was always unfounded. His fans loved his work and reviews were always stellar. He just liked to air on the side of caution where his books were concerned. Kate had already it and she'd loved it.

Lily had insisted she had to walk the twenty minutes to the store. Kate wasn't in any real rush. She loved walking through the city and holding her daughters tiny hand, jumping puddles occasionally in their matching wellies, courtesy of her husband, and they were laughing by the time they reached the store. When they got there she knew Lily's first instinct would be to run for the kids section and flop into to the beanbags there. Her kid loved books. Hard not to with a bestselling author for a father and a mother who was just as well-read as he was. But she managed to coral her daughter before she could do that.

"We'll go look at the kids books in a minute, little flower. Come with Mommy for a minute, okay?"

Lily nodded her head. Kate led her into the crime section, sweeping her gaze for it. There, shiny and new, amongst the rest of the books that bore the name Richard Castle sat Crashing Heat. She grinned and took it from the shelf and noticed her daughter watching her curiously with the same look her husband said she had when she wondered about something. She turned the cover to show Lily, kneeling on the floor with her daughter who immediately followed suit and knelt next to her mother.

"Do you know what that says Lily?" Kate pointed to the name scrawled across the cover. Lily just kept looking at her. "Do you know whose book this is?" Lily shook her head. Kate turned the book over and showed her the picture on the back.

"Dat my Daddy!" Lily squealed and reached for the book.

"This is Daddy's new book. And we're so proud of him, right? Daddy writes the best stories."

Lily nodded enthusiastically. She was the beneficiary of a lot of his storytelling these day. Knights and dragon slaying and superheroes and girls and their parents saving the world. Kate smiled at the photo on the book. Damn, she loved that man.

"Shall we take a photo for Daddy? Stand up and hold this for me Lil." Kate lifted Lily to her feet and made sure she had a good grip on the hardback. She grabbed her cell from her pocket and opened the camera. "Big smiles, sweetheart." Lily grinned and held the book against her chest.

"I see!" Kate showed Lily the photo. When she was satisfied Kate flipped the camera to selfie.

"Sit with Mommy. Let's take one together, yeah?" Lily sat in Kate's lap in the middle of the bookstore and they took another photo with Castle's book. Kate took one more look at it and placed it back on the shelf with the other copies, hoped that whoever was lucky enough to purchase it would enjoy it as much as she had.

At Remy's over lunch she showed Castle the photos. She noticed the way his eyes started to water when he saw his baby in them, grinning as she held Crashing Heat. He would have to put this photo on his desk to look at when he wrote.

"You're biggest fan was so excited to find you're latest book on the shelf," Kate told him.

"Daddy, your book too big." Lily told him seriously, miming to him that it was heavy.

"I'm sorry Lilypad. I've got a small one for you tonight at bedtime," Castle reassured her with a chuckle.

 _AN: Happy book release day! I managed to get my copy of Crashing Heat today. Hope others faired the same or at least receive them soon._

 _For me, Kate keeps this tradition up with the twins too._


	46. Professional Curiousity

**Professional Curiosity  
Season Three**

She'd gotten really good at tuning them out. Ryan and Espo had never really been a problem but she had learned to tune out some of their 'bro chats'. It was Richard Castle who had truly helped her hone that skill.

She loved having her partner around, his unorthodox approach to investigations kept her on her toes and provided much of the happiness in her life, but being surrounded by the three of them on a case-light day could sometimes be more than she wanted to deal with.

She'd just wanted to fill out her paperwork, put in her hours and go home if there wasn't a case.

But she couldn't help hearing them.

Esposito had still not let go of the comment their male stripper victim's agent had made a few days ago, not helped by the fact that Ryan took every opportunity to rib his partner about it. Castle had gravitated towards their desks, always loving to join in on their teasing.

"I bet that was a hit with the ladies," Castle teased and Ryan laughed.  
"Hey! I got letters. People responded in kind," Espo defended.  
Ryan held up two fingers out of his partners field of vision and mouthed the word "Mom" to the writer. Castle had to look away. Oh, that was too good.  
"Anyway, writer boy. I don't see anyone lining up to buy your calendar every year. Unlike New York's Finest."  
"Javi, it was a group shot!" Ryan reminded him and that really ended things for Castle's composure.

Kate rolled her eyes. "And he was at the back of the group. Are you clowns finished? Cause I could end this here and now and tell you that no calendar will ever be better than the firefighters calendar. Sorry Javi."

Castle and Ryan were trying so very hard to regain their composure but the wounded look on their partners face was too much for them. He grumbled to himself as he dropped his head to the paperwork in front of him.

"Wonder how many letters your Mom sent them," Ryan teased and rolled away to the safety of his own desk.

Castle shook his head. "And I'll have you know Esposito, while you were enjoying your group shot, I was filling the pages of the Richard Castle calendar solo."

Esposito and Ryan looked at him. "You did a calendar?"

"I guess that's what happens when you're books are bestsellers. This was around the time I was writing the last Derreck Storm book. Anyway, as much fun as this has been, I've gotta meet Alexis. See you guys later. Ryan, send me those photos!"

Ryan nodded his head, Espo just glared at him as Beckett said bye and shook her head at the three of them.

 _Richard Castle calendar._ She didn't remember that. She's sure he'd have flaunted that before now. She looked around the bullpen. Espo and Ryan were concentrating on the work in front of them. Montgomery was out at a meeting with 1PP. The detectives that sat behind her were out chasing leads in their cases.

She loaded the internet browser, pulled up Google and typed "richard castle calendar". Scrolling through the first page didn't show her anything relevant other than articles to his latest appearances, reviews and links to buy his books. She was part way through the second page when she hit the image search and started to glance through them. She smiled. Damn, he was a good looking man. A man who made her jump as he flopped into his chair next to her desk. She closed the browser window as fast as she could before she turned to glare at him.

"Forget something?" she asked as she picked her pen up and tried to act innocent as she tried not to look at him and focus on the words on the paper in front of her.

"Left my sunglasses."

"Have a habit of that Castle," she mentioned, still not daring to look at him. Hoping he'd not seen her screen. Hoping he'd just drop it.

"Just so you know Detective, all your investigative skills won't help you here." No, she would never be that lucky. Of course he'd caught her snooping. "While the photoshoot happened, I decided against the calendar. Thought it was asking for trouble to arm my fans with all those handsome photos in one place. Not to mention Alexis may have actually killed me. I use one of the photos as my headshot and the rest were used for publicity. But I'm glad to know that if it would have graced your bedroom wall if I had gone ahead with it."

She tried to argue with him but he rose from his seat and grabbed the glasses he'd left on her desk.

"Good night Detective." he teased.

Kate scowled at her computer screen, mortified he'd caught her but she smiled. Yeah, she wouldn't have minded having his picture in her place at all.


	47. Superhero Origins

**Superhero Origins  
Post Series**

"You know, we'd be Ant-Man and Wasp"  
"What now?"  
"If we were superheroes. Remember that case with Hastings and Paul years ago? You said you'd be Elektra and…"  
"You dug deep with Batman," Beckett couldn't catch his train of thought. "Where are you going with this Castle?"

"Just that now, Ant-Man & Wasp make a better story. Think about it. They're a couple, we're a couple."

"Wasp is a little bit of a badass, Ant-Man is good at thinking with his head.

"And has some insane ideas," Kate joked.

"Gets Wasp out of trouble," Castle volleys back.

"After getting her into trouble in the first place," Kate fixes him with a pointed stare.

"She's really good looking and he's so lucky to have found her." Castle tells her sincerely.

Kate wraps her arms around his waist and pulls him to her, lifts up on her toes to kiss him.

"She's good at her job, he turns up to annoy her?" Kate continues as she pulls away.

"She _pretends_ to be annoyed by him but is into him from the start."  
"Are you really starting that argument again?"  
"And she goes through drastic hairstyle changes."

"He's a single Dad with an adorable daughter," She concedes.

He smirks. Remembering when Kate first met Alexis.

"They have each other's back," He tells her sincerely.

"I wake up every morning knowing you've got my back and I know I can do anything," Kate told him. She reached up onto her toes to kiss him again and this time he doesn't let her go so easily, taking from her as much as he gives. "But Hope was not into Scott from the start, she fell for him later on. He was into her from the start. Just like us," Kate pushed him away, leaving their kitchen to head to their bedroom.  
She turned to him, a grin on her face.

"You comin' Castle?"

Castle smirks. Of course he was.


	48. One To Grow On

Castle woke when the sensation of something gentle tickling him broke through the haze of sleep. His eyes fluttered open to find his wife beaming at him, her hair a little disheveled and one of his old t-shirts draping from one shoulder.

"Mmm, morning," he murmured as she returned to pressing kisses along his jaw, down his neck before lifting to kiss his lips.

"Happy birthday Rick."

"Mmm, am I getting to open my present now?" he asked, hands threading into her hair and pulling her down.

"Tonight. I promise. I'm all yours. But for now I've got a lot of kisses to get through," Kate told him, lips trailing once again his jaw, his neck, down to his chest where she placed a kiss against the thud of his heartbeat, leaving her lips there for a second to feel its steady tempo, the life she was so thankful had completely changed her own. This man. He deserved the world. She hoped he loved what she had planned today.

"Kate, get back here," he sighed, enjoying the attention.

"Not yet, I'm only at twenty. A few more years to go yet babe."

She grinned at him, placing another kiss against his peck as she made her way up the other side of his neck, his jaw and then claimed his lips.

"I love you," she whispered the moment they broke for air. "So much Rick."

"I love you, Kate."

They lay together for a little while, exchanging gentle kisses and enjoying a morning where she wasn't heading out the door to the precinct or…

"Daddy!"

Kate laughed. Well, that was timing.

"Your adoring public awaits you, babe."

Castle held her for a minute more as Kate finished her count.

"And one to grow on?"

"Babe, you'll never grow up."

Castle huffed. Kate cupped his face, her fingers gently caressing as she slowly gave him one last kiss.

"Go on. Birthday breakfast coming up just as soon as I've gotten the coffee started."

Castle watched his wife rise from bed, grab her robe and start tying her hair into a messy bun as she headed out of their bedroom. She threw a little sway into her hips, knowing she'd worked him up a little, knew he was watching her. She turned to wink at the door and blew him a kiss before disappearing into the kitchen to cook him a feast.

He grinned, so happy he had this life. He grabbed his own robe and headed upstairs.

 _Happy birthday Richard Castle! Hope you have an amazing day with your family_

 _Thank you for reading.  
I had a great idea for Kate's surprise but I'm not sure I'm gonna write it.  
If anyone wants to know I might write it as a headcanon on Tumblr._


	49. Reliving Always

**#7YearsOfAlways**

She turned her key in the door, pushed it open but it caught.

"Castle? Babe, let me in. The bolt is on the door." She huffed, shoving her keys in her pocket as she stood tapping her foot, waiting for her husband.

The door closed to and she heard the chain being moved before he swung the door open again, standing in the entrance.

"Beckett, what do you want?"

"A hot shower and then I'll help you with dinner," She told him as she went to kiss him and enter but he barred her entry, finger raised to her lips as he made her move back to the threshold.

Castle pouted at her.

"Beckett," he tried again, trying to get her to play along. "What do you want?"

Kate laughed, realising what he was up to. "You."

She pushed into the loft, dropping her bag beside the door and threw her arms around him, pulling him down to her lips. "I just want you," she whispered against his lips as they broke apart.

He pushed her backwards, using her body to close the door and held her against it as he claimed her lips again.

"Lily?" she asked, not wanting to break from him but the mother part of her mind kicking in.

"Alexis," was all he said.

She smiled as she broke from the kiss, took his hand and led him towards the bedroom.

"I love you," Castle told her as he laid her down on the bed.

"Show me," Kate challenged.

"Still one of the greatest moments of my life," Castle told her as she lay against his chest, his hand tracing circles around her bare shoulder as they caught their breath.

"Mine too," Kate agreed.

"It was nice to relive it," Castle said. "I was kind of hoping it might rain today. I considered dropping water out of the window when you got home but I figured my life would not be worth living if I did." He joked as he played with the end of her hair. That had been some storm that night, not just outside either.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I feel like I have two children," she teased. "But if you're happy to take that hot shower with me we could definitely recreate round two and three after. We do have the loft to ourselves tonight."

"Thank you for showing up that night, and for all the years since. For marrying me. For this family."

"Right back at ya handsome."

"Happy anniversary." They said as Kate pulled him towards the shower.

 _AN: Quick little drabble to celebrate the anniversary of Always._


	50. Author's Note

Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed these stories.

I've not been updating due to a lot of complaints. I've been posting my stories over on my Tumblr page.  
There's quite a few small fics and picture drabbles there for anyone interested.

Thank you again for reading.


End file.
